Heritage Heirloom Cutting Boards

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 141 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #61 in Home, #2,513 overall

Kleppin's Wooden Kitchen makes Heirloom Cutting Boards

Meet Bob, the Cutting Board King. Bob is his name, Butcher Block Boards are his Game. It started out innocently enough; my husband found himself with too much time on his hands after medical retirement, so I encouraged him to finally pursue his dream of making fine wooden furniture. Little did I know he was about to discover the artist within and become a cutting board celebrity. This lens will introduce you to Bob's one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted, artistic heirloom quality cutting boards.

End Grain Butcher Block Cutting Boards made one at a time, with love and attention to detail - Bob is a master craftsman and these works of art, while beautiful, are fully functional and built to last!

"Life is too short to cut on ugly boards! Your kitchen (and cook!) deserves a pretty one."

Meet Bob, the Board Master.

The Seven Things You Need To Know About Cutting Boards 

There are many different ways to make a wooden cutting board, and it's easy to shell out big bucks for something that looks great in the store (or on the craft table) but that won't go the distance once you start using it. All wood is not created equal, and neither are all woodworkers. These seven tips will help you distinguish between a real workhorse of a board and one that's best left to other duties.

1) Only Hardwoods are fit for the knife 

A good cutting board will be made of tight grained hardwoods such as maple, jatoba, and walnut. These will hold up under hard use, whereas a soft wood such as pine will wear out quickly.

2) Grain matters! 

Look for edge grain or end grain cutting surfaces, not face grain. Face grain is far less resistant to damage from knives and will not last. End grain (also called butcher block) is designed to allow the knife edge to penetrate between the fibers, doing little or no damage to the wood.

Notice the unique end grain of the wood!

3) More pieces = longer lasting (and better looking!) product 

Narrow boards or strips laminated together are less likely to warp or split than a cutting board made up of two or three wide planks. Narrower boards means they are more labor intensive to make, but the payoff is in longevity.

4) The seams should barely be seen 

Look for good tight joints. Gaps or filler in the joints indicate sloppy workmanship, and an inferior product.

5) Dye is for clothing, and we don't want stains, either! 

Make sure no dyes or stains were used. If you want a cutting board with more pizazz than the common maple board, buy one that uses several different hardwoods with natural color. These won't bleed out into your food or interfere with the mineral oil protecting the wood.

6) Just Say NO to a film finish 

Do not buy a board that has any kind of a film finish on it. No matter what it is, it will get cut up and start to flake off into your food. It may be non-toxic, but anyone who puts a film finish on a cutting board is making a decorative piece, not one intended for use.

7) Ask about the finish used 

Mineral Oil is the best, but paraffin with mineral oil is acceptable. Be absolutely certain no peanut oil was used in the processing -- you don't want to create a problem if you discover a loved one has a nut allergy, and you don't want the oil used to go rancid.

Another Design I like 

The woods in this board are: Katalox, Jatoba, Purple Heart, and Maple. The Jatoba is on the outside, dark colored wood with texture. The Purple heart is the wood that appears purple. The inside very dark squares are Katalox, it's almost black. The light colors are Hard Maple, and the long stripes are bamboo.

Bob Gets Letters:

Hi Bob

I received my board yesterday. I want you to know that I am beyond pleased with the craftsmanship of my board. My family and I are in awe at how beautiful it is. It is so much more than a useful kitchen tool-it is a piece of art to be treasured for many, many years! I can't thank you enough for what you put into each and every piece and I can't wait to show it off to more family and friends.

Take care and thank you again,
~K.S.~ (California)

WOOD U respond to my poll, please? Thanks for playing! 

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Ten Woods provide a wide variety of colors 

~ by Bob Kleppin ~

There are only 10 different woods that I use to make my cutting boards. They are all hardwoods, which means that they have tight closed pores that absorb Mineral Oil but seal out bacteria. Because the grain structure is so dense, when using the wood for end grain cutting boards minor knife cuts are prevented as the grain closes in around the intrusion.

The woods that I use are:

Bamboo - A traditional hardwood, (really a grass), used in cutting boards. Adds an Oriental texture to the boards.

Cherry - A north-eastern US and Canada wood with a fine texture. Becomes darker and richer with age.

Hard Maple - This wood come from North Eastern US and Canada. Known for its durability and strength. Mainstay of most cutting board manufacturers. White to honey in color.

Hickory - A very strong wood with a tight grain. Found all over the US. Trees live to be 350 years old. Grain patterns are very bold and add character to any item made with it.

Jatoba - A crop wood from central and tropical South America. It is also known as Brazilian Cherry. Very distinct tight grain which adds a unique texture to end grain work.

Katalox - An extremely hard dense wood ranging from Purple to Brown to White in the same board. This very attractive coloring patterns creates character to my cutting boards. Found in Central and Southern America.

Monterillo - Also known as Brazilian Rose Wood. Comes from Central America, Panama, Ecuador, and Venezuela. This is a crop wood with very distinct black stripes in a dark rich brown wood.

Purple Heart - A very hard wood from Mexico and Tropical South America. It is, as its name suggests, purple in color and brings a special colorization to any board.

Fishtail Oak - The only one of the oak family whose grain is tight enough to be used in cutting boards. Brings a distinct "fish tail" pattern when used as a side trim board.

Walnut - A dark Chocolate wood mellowing to a light brown within the same board. Medium hard but very well suited for end grain cutting boards. Come from Eastern US and Canada.

My boards are glued together with Titebond III adhesive. This adhesive is approved by the FDA and Department of Agriculture as being compatible for general food contact. In addition this product carries a NSF food safe rating.

In addition, all of my boards come with four rubber feet to provide a skid free contact on your counter for cutting safety.

Functional ART!

Award Winning Craftmanship and Design!

Bob shares his experience on Squidoo! 

featured lens How to make GOOD Texas style BBQ

This lens used to be about my cutting boards. Didn't make sense to have two lenses with the same information. So, since this lens is called smokedbbqmeat (my pseudonym in another life) maybe I ought to make this lens into a BBQ lens. I spent six yea...

featured lens Got a Cutting Board?

The answer to these questions, and more are below. I started with a brief history and evolution of cutting boards (did you know that they were a prehistoric item?), introduce the three types of cutting boards (face grain, edge grain & end grain aka a...

Thanks for leaving a comment! 

Lensmaster

hlkljgk wrote...

really beautiful pieces and a lovely lens.

ReplyPosted June 28, 2009

Lensmaster

Heather426 wrote...

beautiful work! love the lens!

ReplyPosted June 27, 2009

Lensmaster

Expressions wrote...

Superfantastic craftsmanship! I just bought a bamboo cut board 2 weeks ago here in Winnipeg. 5 star @ lens roll. Thank you for seeing my error on my lens.

ReplyPosted June 24, 2009

Lensmaster

spirituality wrote...

Great lens - you've been blessed by a squidoo angel :)

ReplyPosted June 02, 2009

Lensmaster

lollyj wrote...

What a wonderful, beautiful lens featuring these outstanding works of art!!
5 and fave.

ReplyPosted May 22, 2009

 
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Lens Awards & Update Notes 

Lens Of The Day - September 28, 2008 

September 28, 2008, this lens was Lens of the Day.

I am still amazed and delighted by this.

Thank you to all who helped make this happen.

Visit the LOTD Blog to see more LOTD winners: Squidoo Lens of the Day

Fresh Squid Award 

Thank you all who voted!

Every three months new Fresh Squids graduate.

I encourage you to visit and encourage the current Fresh Squids.

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Update June 2009 

Wooden Kitchen Historical Archive Lens Created

As this history portion of the lens has grown too large for comfort, I've moved it all (except for the 2 awards above) to this new lens.
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