It's all about the grain!

When it comes to comes to making anything out of wood, we have to be considerate of a number of things; the look we want, the durability of the hardwood choice and the application of the wood.  When we choose the lumber we're going to use for our craft, we consider not only the traits of a particular species, but also the three facets of a piece of lumber.  Those three facets are Face Grain, Edge Grain and End Grain.  It's very important to understand the differences between these as it will affect how you use a board, care for it and how often you will need to maintain it.

As a quick analogy, think of the grain and wood fibers as straws, or a handful of dry spaghetti.  If you cut across spaghetti then you're going to break it.  If you cut along it, however, you won't break as much.  If you cut down on the spaghetti standing up, then you will hardly break any at all - the knife blade will push the spaghetti aside as the blade goes down, and as it comes back up the spaghetti will bounce back into place.  The same is said for the fibers and grain in the wood - bear this analogy in mind when reading further about the three facets of wood grain.

Face Grain

The widest face of the lumber, where you'll see the wood grain pattern and any swirls, whorls or pattern around knots - absolutely beautiful in all hardwoods!  Face grain is best considered when it comes to a finished piece of furniture like hardwood cabinets, buffets and dressers - the face grain will be the showcase of the entire project! 

Face grain is perfect for serving slabs/platters and charcuterie boards, because you don't cut on those typically. The grain runs horizontally and are further apart - so if you were to cut on them the likelihood of your knife leaving a scar or a score that could be deep is higher with this facet of the wood.  It's very important, therefore, to ensure that you maintain a face grain cutting board perhaps more regularly than you would an edge or end grain board.  

If you are using your face grain cutting board every day, then we'd recommend after cleaning/wiping down that you maintain it weekly with our rejuvenating board butter, which will add a thin wax layer to the wood and offer increased protection both to your board and prevents the fibers of wood contaminating the food you're cutting on it.

Edge Grain

Edge grain is very popular for counter tops, work stations and cutting boards - some of our favorite boards are made this way!  Strips of lumber that are cut along the grain are glued together to form designs and patterns, and cut to size and finished accordingly.  The beautiful thing about edge grain is that it has added strength over face grain because the grain is closer together on this facet.  It's less susceptible to scores and cuts than face grain, although not as impermeable as end grain.  Edge grain can be a more economical option than end grain because it is less labor intensive than crafting something from end grain.  It all depends on the look you're going for.

Again, with all raw wood you'll need to maintain it - it's an investment!  However, if you oil and wax your cutting board regularly, or as needed, then it will serve you for years to come!

End Grain

The top of the tree when it comes to durability, absolutely!  End grain is when the lumber is cut across the grain, allowing you to see the growth rings of the tree it was cut from.  Butcher block is traditionally made from end grain - the main reason is the durability.  When you cut down onto end grain, any knife mark is almost undetectable.  End grain is almost self-healing - and for that reason it is the preferred choice in a lot of kitchens.  End grain cutting boards are usually thick, on average 2 inches or more - the thicker the heavier and more robust the cutting board will be.  We find that 2" is a good thickness for our end grain cutting boards - not too heavy to lift and maneuver around the kitchen, and not too cumbersome to maintain regularly.

At Artisan Ridge, we construct our end grain cutting boards with the home chef in mind - our standard is 2", however we do custom builds per your request.  If you would like a serious workhorse end grain cutting board for your kitchen, home or otherwise, please reach out and we'll help you decide on the species and design.