Best Wood for Cutting Boards (What Type of Wood and Thickness Should You Use for Cutting Boards?)
When the day comes that you decide to get into making your first cutting boards or you are purchasing a quality board for the first time, the options and decisions can be daunting. As you attempt to research the options available to you all you are greeted with are two dozen types of wood that sound more like cartoon characters than species of trees. The forum that you're hoping to scrape a touch of wisdom from completely contradicts the one you just clicked out of minutes prior. Heck, the members in the posts can't seem to agree with each other either. Trying to figure out which materials and orientations are best for you can be a confusing and frustrating task, but it does not need to be. We are going to cover three woods that are not only cutting board staples but are also fairly available all across America. We will also briefly cover three orientations and roughly estimate the thickness that should correspond with each orientation.
If you are newer to creating cutting boards or would like to make a nice addition to your indoor/outdoor kitchen, the only three woods I would give any attention to are maple, cherry and walnut. These three woods have a perfect color gradation and give you the opportunity to showcase some great contrast. On top of all three of these woods being aesthetically pleasing, they are all hardwoods with minimal pores. This allows for the cutting boards to be much easier to keep sanitary and they should last you for many years to come with proper care and maintenance.
Lastly, the orientation of your cutting board is rather important. The orientation is directly tied to the cost, longevity, appearance and quality of your board. The three common orientations include face grain, edge grain and end grain. As we cover each orientation, I will compare them to a common 2x4 board for clarification.
Face grain cutting boards are relatively self-explanatory, as the face grain is the face of the board you are using. If you had your 2x4, the face grain would be the wider, flat surface that makes up most of the board (the 3.5" side). Face grain cutting boards are usually the cheapest of the three orientation options and tend to not last quite as long as their edge or end grain counterparts. Don't let this fool you into thinking they're junk, because they can still be made into a gorgeous piece of art that will outlast a plastic cutting board any day! Face grain cutting boards are also a fantastic starting point for beginner woodworkers. Face grain cutting boards are typically between about 1/2"- 1" thick, making them the thinnest of the three orientations.
Edge grain cutting boards take a step up from face grain as far as longevity is concerned, but often times carry that price tag with them as well. If we took our 2x4 and ripped it all the way down the board and flipped the cut surfaces up, we'd be looking at the edge grain (the 1.5" side). Edge grain cutting boards tend to be a bit thicker than a face grain board with an average of about 3/4"- 1 1/4" thick.
Finally, we come to end grain cutting boards. These boards are the biggest and baddest of them all. These cutting boards are the longest lasting, the most beautiful and also the most expensive of all our options. If we took our 2x4 and made a crosscut across the board (as you would on a miter or a chop saw) and were to flip up the cut sections where the blade passed, this would be our end grain. End grain cutting boards are also typically the thickest of the three coming in at roughly 1 1/2"- 2 1/2" thick. These beasts can be a staple in any kitchen for decades if properly cared for.
Don't lose yourself in the internet nonsense over this topic, it's not as complicated as it seems!