Buy one large hardwood board for everyday work and a second, smaller one for raw meat and poultry. In oak, that everyday board is the Cutting board Block, medium, 33x22x4.5 cm, 47.50 EUR. Cooking for more than two, take the same board in large, 50x25x4.5 cm, 64.99 EUR.
The second board is best in thermally modified ash: the Waterless, medium, 33x23x1.5 cm, 44.99 EUR. Woodsea treats that ash to resist water, stains and deformation. None of these boards goes in the dishwasher, whatever the wood. Walnut is for the boards that go on the table, and pine suits light work and serving.
Which wood should you choose for a wooden cutting board?
Oak for daily chopping. Thermally modified ash for the board that gets washed hardest, which is the one you cut raw meat on. Plain ash for an all-purpose board, walnut for serving and pine for light work. Woodsea works in all five.
Oak is hard, strong and takes intensive daily use. Its pores are pronounced, so care matters more on oak than on the rest. Ash is hard and resistant too, with a little more give and a good looking texture.
Walnut sits below both. It is softer, so it is gentler on knife edges and knife marks show on it sooner. Pine is softer again and kind to knives, but it picks up deep cuts and dents fast. A board in heavy daily use should be hardwood.
What makes a cheap board cheap is soft wood, or wood that was dried badly. Those boards warp, crack and start to rock on the worktop sooner than a hardwood one.
Which board should you buy first, and at what size?
Buy one large hardwood board first. A single board of decent size covers most everyday jobs, and the useful second purchase is a separate board for raw meat and poultry.
In oak that first board is the Cutting board Block, medium, at 47.50 EUR. It measures 33x22x4.5 cm, which fits a normal worktop and a normal sink. It is a solid board coated with oil that soaks into the wood and protects it from moisture, cracking and warping. At 4.5 cm there is enough wood to sand the surface back and re-oil it several times over the board's life.
If you cook for more than two, buy the same board in a bigger size rather than a different board. The Block in oak, large, is 64.99 EUR and gives 72 percent more surface than the medium.
The Edge cutting board in oak, medium, is 92.50 EUR at 45x40x4.5 cm. Its raised back edge hooks over the table so the board holds still while you chop, and that edge carries a magnetic knife holder. Buy it if you want the knives kept on the board rather than in a drawer.
What do you get for the extra money on a Woodstone board?
The pattern on the surface. The extra money does not get you more board. The Woodstone oak small is 74.99 EUR at 30x20x3 cm. The Cutting board Block in oak, medium, costs less and is both wider and thicker. Buy a Woodstone if you want that surface on your worktop; the Block gives you more board for the money.
Small does not mean the same thing across the three Woodstones, so their prices do not compare. In ash it is a 20x20 cm square, 6 cm thick, at 44.99 EUR, the same price as the medium Waterless meat board. In walnut it is a different object again, 40x26x5 cm with grooves cut for serving, at 187.50 EUR. Most of what separates those three prices is how much board you get.
What should the second board be?
Make the second board thermally modified ash and keep it for raw meat and poultry. Two boards lower the cross contamination risk, and the meat board is the one that gets washed hardest.
The Waterless medium is 44.99 EUR at 33x23x1.5 cm, and the same board in small is 24.99 EUR. Woodsea treats this ash with heat and says the treatment leaves the boards resistant to water, stains and deformation. That is what a meat board needs, because it goes to the sink several times a day.
After raw meat or poultry, Woodsea's routine is hot water and washing-up liquid. Scrub the whole surface and the edges, rinse, dry at once and stand the board on its edge. No soaking and no dishwasher, on this board or any other. If deep cuts appear that will not come clean, the board gets sanded back or replaced.
Plastic is the usual alternative for a meat board. Woodsea's own post on why wooden boards are the sustainable choice puts the case against it. A plastic board sheds tiny fragments into the food with every cut, and once the grooves get deep it harbours bacteria. A wooden board gets sanded back to a clean surface instead.
Oak or walnut: which cutting board is better?
For chopping, oak. For the table, walnut. Walnut is the softer of the two, so knife marks show on it sooner. The money buys a deep natural colour instead, and a grain you can see from across the room.
Walnut also costs more, and the size of that premium is measurable, because Woodsea builds the same designs in both woods at matched sizes. There are thirteen such matched pairs and walnut is dearer on every one of them, by 17 to 57 percent. Six of them, the smallest premium, the largest and the boards most people buy:
| Same design, same size, both woods | Oak | Walnut | Walnut costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serving board Mask, small | 59.99 EUR | 69.99 EUR | 17% more |
| Cutting board Block, large | 64.99 EUR | 87.50 EUR | 35% more |
| Cutting board Block, medium | 47.50 EUR | 64.99 EUR | 37% more |
| Cheese board with knives, small | 62.50 EUR | 87.50 EUR | 40% more |
| Edge cutting board, medium | 92.50 EUR | 137.50 EUR | 49% more |
| Orbit cutting board, one size | 87.50 EUR | 137.50 EUR | 57% more |
A serving board is rarely chopped on, so walnut's softness costs you nothing there. If you want one walnut piece for the table, look at the cheese board with knives in walnut, small. It is 87.50 EUR at 42x20x2 cm, and the knives come with it.
Pine is for light work and carrying food to the table
Pine handles bread, cheese and the trip from kitchen to table. The board for that is the Burned pine board at 29.99 EUR in the small size, 20x38x2 cm and long and narrow. The large is 39.99 EUR.
Woodsea chars the surface in the Japanese yakisugi tradition, also called shou sugi ban, and says the burning leaves the wood water resistant. Pine is still the softest of the five woods Woodsea works in. The board will collect cuts, so daily chopping belongs on oak or ash.
Every wood gets the same routine, with one difference each
Oak, ash, thermally modified ash, walnut and pine all get the same care. Wash the board by hand in warm water with washing-up liquid straight after use, then dry it with a towel. Stand it on its edge so air reaches both sides, and oil it once a month.
Oak's pores are pronounced, so the monthly oiling matters most there. Walnut shows cuts sooner, so it comes up for sanding and a fresh coat of oil earlier. Pine takes deep dents quickly.
Oil is a separate purchase. Wood Butter is 14.50 EUR, hand blended from natural beeswax and refined mineral oil. Boards split when they dry out, which is what the monthly oiling prevents. Woodsea says a board kept in regular care should not split, and that its finishes and oils are all food-grade. Woodsea's care guide covers stains, strong odours and the monthly oiling.
Can you put a wooden cutting board in the dishwasher?
No, in any of these woods, and the Waterless product page says it: never soak the board in water or put it in the dishwasher. In a dishwasher, Woodsea says, a board can split into several pieces, change colour, go mouldy or warp.
Where are these made and how do they ship?
Woodsea's boards are handmade in Lithuania. Orders are prepared within 1 to 2 business days. Inside Lithuania they travel with Venipak in 2 to 5 working days from dispatch. You can also collect them in person from the office in Vilnius. Delivery inside Lithuania is free on orders over 90 EUR. Orders going abroad travel with DHL in 5 to 7 working days from dispatch.
A faulty board can go back within 14 days of delivery. A board you decided against can go back within 7 days, unused and in its original packaging. Woodsea asks that returns come back to the studio rather than by courier. The whole range sits in the boards collection.
FAQ
Which wood is best for a wooden cutting board?
Oak, for a board that gets chopped on every day, because it is hard and takes intensive daily use. For the board you cut raw meat on, choose thermally modified ash, which starts at 24.99 EUR in the small Waterless size. Plain ash is the all-rounder: hard and resistant like oak, a little more elastic, with a texture worth looking at. Walnut is a serving wood.
What size cutting board should I buy?
One board large enough to prep on, and a smaller second one for raw meat. The medium Cutting board Block in oak, 33x22x4.5 cm, is the practical starting point for one or two people. Cooking for more than two, take the same board in large, 50x25x4.5 cm at 64.99 EUR, which is 72 percent more surface.
Is a walnut cutting board better than an oak one?
Not for chopping. Walnut is the softer wood, so it takes visible knife marks earlier, and it costs more in all thirteen matched pairs Woodsea builds in both woods. On the Block board in medium the difference is 17.49 EUR, 47.50 EUR in oak against 64.99 EUR in walnut. For a board that sits out on the table walnut is the better buy, because of the deep natural colour and the visible grain.
Are handmade wooden kitchen accessories worth the price?
Judge that design by design, because price does not track size across this range. The Woodstone oak small is 74.99 EUR for 30x20x3 cm, which is 27.49 EUR more than the Block board in oak, medium, and gives you a narrower, thinner board. The extra money there buys the patterned surface, so decide whether you want that before you compare the two prices.
Which wooden kitchen accessories look best in an open kitchen?
The walnut ones, for the deep colour and the visible grain. Two pieces are worth leaving out on a shelf: the Woodstone walnut board at 187.50 EUR, 40x26x5 cm with serving grooves, and the walnut cheese board with knives at 87.50 EUR. For less money, the Serving board Mask in walnut, small, is 69.99 EUR at 38x19x1.5 cm.
About Woodsea
Woodsea is a Lithuanian workshop making wooden kitchen and interior products: cutting boards, serving boards, knife holders, grinders, clocks and candlesticks.