The link to the Etsy Store URL in the post writeup is broken.
Well, I think Neil deGrasse Tyson will pass on the one depicting the solar system.
“Fabricate”? Are you saying it’s all lies!?
Pluto? What is this Pluto of which you speak?
In before the Pluto lock.
No real chopping without bits of bamboo in the food;
better as a serving board.
So those designs are etched into the board? What a great residing place for bacteria!
They are treated with mineral oil and bee’s wax on the engraved side and untreated on the reverse. They suggest cutting on the reverse side and serving on the engraved side.
Their 300+ 5 star reviews suggest whatever they do, it works well.
Good for them. I’m jealous, I’ve wanted to make a business out of a laser cutter/engraver for a couple of years now, they seem to be doing a nice job of it.
That’s what I was thinking also. Wood is pretty good, but you don’t want little crevices.
That said, if they are sufficiently wide enough that they can be cleaned effectively it won’t be an issue.
They also come in hardwoods.
Regardless of whether there’s an un-engraved side, or how they’ve been treated bamboo boards can be problematic. They’re aren’t exactly knife friendly for one. I had bamboo wear the edge off a knife in a couple days of use, and I’ve heard stories about chipped blades. I’ve also had trouble with blade control when cutting on them, as the blade bites into the board less than with butcher block. They also have a tendency to warp, chip, split etc (though that’s more a problem with cheap thin ones) in my experience.
So it’s likely these aren’t to practical for heavy use. Light use or a cheese board though they should be fine. And I’ve seen far more ridiculous or impractical things used regularly as cutting boards.
I am not a knife person, I have what I assume is a decent set (German) and have no problem with my bamboo cutting boards. I have cheap bamboo cutting boards and they warped a little, but not enough to matter as long as you place them concave side down.
That said, you can get any of the cutting boards they offer in any one of 4 or 5 wood choices.
You heard about Pluto? That’s messed up, right?
Thanks!
Hadn’t noticed the hardwoods, but I still doubt I’d use such a board heavily for fear of messing them up.
The thing with bamboo is its significantly harder than most hardwoods. Its got a huge reputation among word workers for dulling out saw blades. drills and cracking chisels. Beyond that bamboo boards contain a lot of glue which is typically harder still. So for one your knife bites into it less than wood or plastic which can cause the blade to slide and wander dangerously. It will also grind down the edge on a finely sharpened knife, both due to this hardness and to bamboo’s large grain structure. Its a bit like cutting on mild sand paper. The ostensible quality or cost of the knives in question isn’t really the issue here. Most of mine are pretty cheap Chinese made for an American company from decent steel. I’ve got a few expensive Japanese knives, and cheap French carbon steel. Its down to the hardness of the steel in the knives, and how sharp you keep them. You won’t notice them dulling out as much or as quickly if you don’t keep them particularly sharp to begin with (and the out of the box sharpening on most German/Western knives isn’t particularly sharp). Softer steels like those traditionally used in Western knives are going to grind down. The harder steels in more modern knives and those from Japan are going to be at risk for chipping. The hardness makes them brittle so they’re more prone to that.
I’m not convinced on durability, I’ve had/seen too many problems with it. And using a warped cutting board is down right dangerous. You’re waving knives around on this shit.
But most of those problems are really only going to become apparently with frequent and heavy use. I cook a lot for and with large groups of people. I do plenty of “heavy duty” type kitchen stuff. And I’ve had issues, and noticeably duller knives when using bamboo. The professional cooks I know put way more use into their stuff than I do and I’ve yet to hear anything but horror stories and mockery about bamboo boards from any of them. Most of the split, cracked, warped, chipped boards (or chipped expensive Japanese knives) I’ve seen or used came from these guys. If you don’t cook that often, or put a lot of wear on your equipment, bamboo is fine. But for the most part I’d consider it in the same category as glass or stone cutting boards (or those micro thin plastic bastards). Its looks nice and it’s targeted at people who don’t cook that often.
I don’t care either way about including Pluto on the solar system board. What does bother me is that they included Pluto without including Eris or Pluto’s twin planet Charon.
Very cool. I dig it, @doctorow.
Interesting. So what is a good material for a cutting board in your experience?
Plastic
