The right cutting board for your knife

When Jonathan Broida, owner of Japanese Knife Imports in Venice and subject of a recent story I wrote on the shop, talks to customers, one thing he always asks is what sort of cutting board they use.

To preserve the blade’s sharpness, it’s important to use the right kind of cutting board. “I really like end grain wood cutting boards for a couple of reasons,� says Broida. “One: They look nice. Two: when you’re cutting on the end grain, it causes less damage to the knife and the board, which heals itself.� He uses a board from Dave Smith at “the boardSMITH,� who makes them in several sizes and in woods such as mahogany, maple, walnut, cherry and more.

“Glass and most poly cutting boards are bad for your knives,� says Broida with a shudder. “But there are some synthetic boards that are totally cool for knives. The Japanese make a line of synthetic boards called hi-soft boards that are softer than the poly boards you generally find here.... There’s also a U.S. brand of rubber boards called Sani-Tuff that are less expensive than their Japanese counterparts.�

Hmm, I use a wood cutting board, but not one that’s end grain. Not having one means I’ll probably have to sharpen my blade more often, so it’s a trade-off. My husband seems to think you can never have too many cutting boards, especially when friends are helping out in the kitchen. I’m thinking an end grain cutting board that lasts forever would be a good investment for my knives. If not this year, then next year.

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