perfect chopping board HI kitchen knives

[davidf99]

I've never heard of lignum vitae and ironwood (ipe) being considered the same thing.

The lignum vitae is used in ship building and propeller shaft bushings and is extremely tough and durable, perhaps even more so than ironwood.

Perhaps something is lost in the translation I suspect.

Ironwood is one of those common-usage terms that cover a variety of different kinds of hard, dense wood. Like rosewood, which is also a general term for woods from a variety of different trees.

Ipe might be the hardest and densest of the "commercially available" ironwoods (meaning, commercially available for things like decks and other large structures), but lignum vitae is off the charts in those qualities. Lignum vitae is very hard to work and will dull your metal tools in a hurry. The only tools I've used successfully with lignum vitae are a narrow-kerf table saw and metal files. You can't plane the stuff because it has a twisty, interlocked grain that guarantees tearout. However you can sand it, once you get it to the desired shape. It takes a fantastic polish.

When I've cut lignum vitae on a table saw I get a strange looking sawdust that clumps together and appears "damp." That's because the wood is impregnated with the natural resin that makes it water-resistant.

Here is a wakizashi that I made from lignum vitae. It's about 14" long, so more of a long knife than a short sword, but I tried to capture that elegant wakizashi shape, and I managed to work it so that the grain runs lengthwise along the curve of the "blade."

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[spiraltwista]

Dharan butchers in 2005 with kukri, chakmak & chopping blocks. Check out the "meat only bevel" on the 5th one down!

spiral

 

[ndoghouse]

Looks like that block has had some use. I wonder what the guy in the back is selling in them blister packs. Water buffalo patties?
Lots of happy Khukhura hanging out in the street

 

[Howard Wallace]

Some hard and honest use to come by that wear. One of these decades if the curvature becomes too great they may have to resurface it with a chain saw.

The old house Red Flower and I used to own was built in the 30's. It had pull-out plywood cutting boards under the counters. One day I noticed that several plys had worn through in a circular area, and had the bright idea of turning the board over. When I did, I found that someone else had had the same bright idea several decades before. There was a corresponding depression on the other side. Then I pulled out the board, removed the knob, and put the knob on the other end. Two fresh surfaces that had been hidden all those years! Red Flower and I sold that house a while back. I showed the new owners the board and warned them that it probably only had another 80 years or so before it would need replacement.

 

[cul4u01]

Actually, the concave indent is good, especially if the knife conforms to it. I'm not so sure about khuks, but the big Asian butcher cleavers do, and when the convex edge of the knife matches the concave block cutting surface, performance is nothing short of remarkable.

 

[moparsbob]

That Khukuri he is using has a very interesting upturned point on it - somewhat similar to a UBE

 

[spiraltwista]

Thanks chaps, it was interesting! The black pig crispy fried pork later in the day was delicious. Best pork Ive ever tasted.

That Khukuri he is using has a very interesting upturned point on it - somewhat similar to a UBE

The upturned tip on both the kuks the chap in the orange hoodie, is not by design, its the result of reapeated hammer peening to sharpen!

spiral

 

[blue lander]

So over a year later my ironwood chopping board is still going strong. I oiled it once or twice the first month but then I realized it absorbed more than enough oil from the food I cut on it. Sometimes the cracks get larger, sometimes they get smaller, and eventually you stop worrying about them.

It also gets regular use as a plate to put hot kettles or pans on so they don't burn my counter top.

 

[Shavru]

Heck Blue, you barely even have a decent start on wearing it in. 1 year down and I bet in another 10 it still looks like it has barely been used. As with Howard's cutting board at his old house, you probably have at least another 99 years before you need to turn it over and use the other side.

 

[Bawanna]

I hope we're all here to see the results of the second 99 years too.