perfect chopping board HI kitchen knives

blue lander

blue lander

Joined
Aug 16, 2011
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A Chinese chopping block! It's exactly what it looks like, a 1 inch thick cross section of a tree. It's end grain so its easier on your knife edge and more bacteria resistant than plastic. It's nice and heavy too so it doesn't move when you cut on it.

They make them from all different kinds of wood, this one is ironwood. Got it from a Chinese supermarket for $12.
 
Does the loop it is hangingfrom stay with it or does that come off so it sits flat? Very interesting. My cutting board is routed out so it fits over my slab of marble that I use for baking. But it cracked a couple weeks ago so might look for something like this instead for a replacement. Cool find!
 
Id buy a couple of them right now if I could find them. I see some big bamboo ones on auction that are nice for under $100 but still havent bought one. I plan to use a big cedar stump on castors when I get my kitchen in order. Chunks of bowling alley floor are great too if you can find them and they havent been sealed with poisions! You scored blue! Love it!
 
from a person who collects ironwoods, 12 dollars is a steal for a cutting board like that :D probably partridge wood, awesome find blue
 
Huh, I had no idea ironwood was so expensive! The ones I've seen online were more in the $40 range. The handle doesn't come out but it doesn't really get in the way. Some have a metal belt around them to keep the board from splitting. This board has a lot of little splits that open and close on their own. I used to oil it and pour beeswax in the cracks but now I just let them be.

I used to use bamboo boards but I read bamboo is hard and tough on knife edges. Not sure about end grain bamboo boards though.
 
I've been meaning to get one from a thai cookware supplier. Theirs are made of tamarind wood.
 
I remember Bill mentioning that Ms. Yangdu and her khukuris were a bit tough on cutting boards. One of these might do the trick.
 
I hear the tamarind wood ones have the added benefit of being acidic, which helps kill bacteria. I think that store also sells pine and ironwood ones
 
Thing must weigh a ton, ironwood is really really dense.

You get a sliver or ironwood in your hand and you'll wonder where the yellow went too, almost instantly. I don't know what's in it but it hurts.
 
Yup, nice and heavy. It stays put when you chop on it that's for sure.

I bet auntie already has a really nice chopping board, but if not I'd gladly send her one.
 
blue lander, I do not have ironwood chopping board and love to trade one with Khukuri.
 
I did a lot of research on Chinese chopping boards before I actually bought one (I didn't realize I could just pick one up around the corner, thought I'd have to order one online), so I'm going to summarize what I learned:

Bacteria

End grain chopping boards, meaning boards where the surface is the "top" of the wood grain rather than along the side line a regular wood cutting board, may actually be more anti-bacterial than plastic boards. At the very least they're just as anti-bacterial. This is because the end of the wood fibers suck the bacteria laden moisture to the inside of the board. The moisture eventually dries out and the bacteria is left to die inside the dried wood. On a plastic board, the bacteria can hide in the cuts and grooves in the surface and survive there even after cleaning.

Different Woods

Different cultures in SE Asia use different varieties of wood for their boards. The most common ones appear to be Tamarind, Pine, Ironwood, and Willow.

Some folks prefer tamarind and pine because the wood is soft (easier on your knife edge) and mildly acidic (making it more bacteria resistant). The downside being that they're lighter wood so the boards are 3-4 inches thick and of course they get dished out after heavy use. It sounds like they're more resistant to splitting, too. Pine has the advantage of being grown locally so you don't have to ship one over from SE Asia.

Willow is supposed to be very good but it depends on where the tree was grown. If it was grown on a river side, the wood may contain silicates silt and sand which may damage your knife edge. Back in ye olden days, boards were made from old mature trees, as they'd have the densest growth rings. Nowadays they farm trees for the purpose and they're cut down as soon as they're large enough. The coolest thing about willow cutting boards is that they still have the bark around the edges. I attached a picture.

Ironwood is good because it's very heavy and very dense. Where the other boards are usually 3-4 inches thick the ironwood ones are usually just 1 inch thick. Some people say ironwood is too hard to use as a cutting board material and will damage your knife edges. Other people say that since it's end grain, your knife edge is sliding between the wood fibers rather than across them, so it doesn't really matter how hard the wood is. Ironwood is very dense and dry so it develops little hairline cracks. They're very small, too small to fit your fingernail into, and are harmless. Some Ironwood boards have steel belts around the diameter to keep the wood from expanding. If the board is in constant use it gets exposed to water/grease/oil/animal fat/etc which soaks into the wood and eventually "cures" it. Supposedly after 2-3 years the material stabilizes and won't crack anymore.

If the cracks bother you, just toss the board in a bucket of water overnight and they'll seal back up. In fact, Chinese chefs apparently store their boards in a tub of water when they aren't being used. Ironwood used to be used for ship hulls and whatnot so water doesn't damage it. I oiled the hell out of my board and tried to fill any cracks with beeswax, but you can't really stop them. Best thing to do is just not worry about it. You might see a bunch of tiny cracks on it today and tomorrow they might be gone on their own. I read Chinese chefs have they own routine for "breaking in" a new board that involves soaking it in certain things for certain amounts of time.

Difference between Chinese and Western chopping blocks

Western chopping blocks, made by companies like Booz, are made from a bunch of wood squares that are all glued together. So they can be made in a variety of shapes and sizes. They're also more resistant to cracking/splitting. Cheaper western chopping blocks, however, may use inferior glues to attach all the blocks together. If the glue is too hard it might damage your knife edge, or if it's too weak the blocks may split. This isn't a problem with the fancy ones but they're very expensive. Home Goods sells western style chopping blocks in the $20-$30 range but who knows what the quality is.

Cleaning

Just give it a good rinse and scrub when you're done and let it dry on it's side so both sides dry out. Even when it's clean and dry, this board holds on to smells for a long time. If you cut onions or chicken or something on it it'll smell like that for days but only if you hold it right up to your nose. I haven't noticed it imparting unwanted flavors to other foods. I use the same board to cut strawberries and cherries as I do for garlic and onions (washing in between of course) and I haven't tasted any difference. If the smell bothers you, just pour some iodized salt on the surface and give it a little scrub. That should suck the smells out.
 
Thanks for all the cool info blue lander. I didn't realize how much I wanted on of the cutting boards until now. It's far superior to the plastic crap I use now. Who knew cutting boards could be so interesting.
 
Mine is pine, about 6" thick, round, slightly concaved, with a matching butcher knife to boot.

Basically the knife hasn't been separated from that chopping block, in over 50 years. The knife blade edge is the exact same convex shape to the boards concave curvature. The knife is so sharp, it cuts through anything with cooked bones as easy as butter, such as a chicken, duck, pork ribs, etc...

This knife and block set came from an old Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, that closed down, and belonged to a friend of my grandfathers. He got the set many a moon ago, and when he died, grandma gave it to me, since I liked to cook traditional Chinese food.
 
cul4u01 said:
Mine is pine, about 6" thick, round, slightly concaved, with a matching butcher knife to boot.

Basically the knife hasn't been separated from that chopping block, in over 50 years. The knife blade edge is the exact same convex shape to the boards concave curvature. The knife is so sharp, it cuts through anything with cooked bones as easy as butter, such as a chicken, duck, pork ribs, etc...

This knife and block set came from an old Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, that closed down, and belonged to a friend of my grandfathers. He got the set many a moon ago, and when he died, grandma gave it to me, since I liked to cook traditional Chinese food.
Click to expand...

post some pictures if you have time. I would love to see it Cul.
 
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