End Grain Pine Cutting Boards

Hmmm, never even gave a thought to using pine for a cutting board. These look great!

Oh, and WELCOME to LJs!

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I might just have to play with a few pieces of pine myself.

Thanks for sharing. They look great.

-- Brad, Texas, https://www.youtube.com/user/tonkatoytruck/feed

Those look great. Gonna have to give pine a chance.

-- I measured once, cut twice, and its still too short...

I don’t think pine is actually a ‘good’ wood for cutting boards. But its seems to do the job and there is nothing wrong with that.
Nowadays with the internet and people who have too much time on there hands to study the stupidest things
, you can always find something to back you up. tightbond glue is food safe, tightbond glue is not food safe…plastic cutting boards are safe, plastic cutting boards are unsafe….you get the idea.
I think as long as you do not eat the cutting board and keep it relatively clean you and the world should be just fine.
I like the ovaloid/rectange shaped one the best.
G Vavra

I’ve done a few with pine, certainly easier to sand than maple. I read somewhere it had some natural anti bacterial properties. I think the best part is the price and the fantastic grain

-- @craftcollectif , http://www.craftcollective.ca, https://www.etsy.com/shop/craftcollective?

Beautiful collection of cutting boards and being pine got me very interested since it is a softwood .
Have to give it a try and get my wife to use it and see for myself how it stands up not that I am doubting your experience .Sure are beautiful grain patterns in those boards .

Klaus

-- Kiefer https://www.youtube.com/user/woodkiefer1/videos

Pine and other softwoods like poplar are simply to soft for use as cutting boards. The pitch in pine can transfer taste to the foods cut on it also. Using end grain for the board and then wrapping it in long grain border completely ignores how the wood will move during seasonal changes in humidity. As the end grain field shrinks, and it will shrink, the long grain border will not shrink and something will have to give.

Wood is not anti-bacterial. The natural wicking action of end grain sucks moisture to the inside then evaporates. Once the moisture evaporates, the bacterial trapped in the wood fibers dies.

-- David www.TheBoardSMITH.com

Thanks for the tip on putting border on them.

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I haven’t had any complaints in two years and am encouraged by users to make more. Guess we’ll see over time☺ Have you had a bad experience using pine end grain? I’ve heard both sides on the science but have yet to come across anyone who had bad experiences with taste or durability (when using end grain).
Thanks!

-- It is very hard to get on the bad side of people when you allow them to teach you!

Hey There!
I just finished making a pine wood board and noticed that my food still kinda tastes like the wood. How long should I wait to use it? I sanded down to 220 and mineral oiled it twice, once a day for two days.
Please advise.
Thanks,
Sonny

Sorry for late response. I’m not sure why I haven’t experienced a wood taste transfer onto food other than maybe the difference in the wood being used? As I’m sure you know you can purchase pine in a crazy variety of conditions. Pitchy, wet, dry, full of knots, etc…. I am not an expert on this but I hope over time this will correct itself!

-- It is very hard to get on the bad side of people when you allow them to teach you!

Thanks Scott!
I recently found out from another wood worker that his board did the same thing. He told me it took 2-3 months after oiling to get rid of the smell. He also said I should add another few coats of oil. He said add enough oil until the wood won’t absorb it anymore.then let it dry.
I’ve added 3 more coats, and it’s seemed to help a bit with the smell. Haven’t cut anything on it.