Glued Boards or One-Piece Boards
Two Types of Cutting Boards
If you’ve been considering a premium solid hardwood cutting board, you’re probably more familiar with boards made from glued pieces of wood, but maybe less so with one-piece alternatives. Truth is, whether glued or one-piece, there are some premium wood cutting boards out there; here's some information that may help you find them.
When it comes to durability and board life, both glued and one-piece wood cutting boards have advantages and disadvantages. Regardless of the board type you choose, wood is a natural material that reacts to surrounding environmental conditions, and without proper care, either board will warp and crack.
Key factors that determine any solid wood cutting board's longevity are wood species, board construction, and board care.
Glue seams or no glue seams
When we began making wood cutting boards ten years ago, we wanted to offer our customers something different. What we saw from 99% of our potential competitors was obvious: they all made glued wood cutting boards with unnatural-looking glue seams. At that point, our love for beautiful native Pennsylvania hardwood and its natural appeal pointed us in a different direction.
We began making one-piece solid wood cutting boards, and from there the learning curve began. At first, we only had what was available: the same thin wood every other maker had access to. While many of those first boards were beautiful and stable, some warped, so we looked for a solution. Soon, we moved to thicker boards and focused on a more protective oil/moisture barrier. This two-part solution made the difference then, and we still use it today.
Now, before we go any further, we need to reveal our target niche market, because our thick boards aren't for everyone. First and foremost, our customers love and appreciate natural wood tones and the bold look of thick walnut, cherry, or hard maple cutting boards. Our customers want a cutting board that's stable on the counter and long-lasting, while also doubling as an eye-catching kitchen décor accent. Our customers want an alternative to glue seams and a manufactured look.
When comparing glued boards to solid one-piece cutting boards, it’s important to mention that both glued boards and one-piece wood boards are vulnerable to moisture imbalances and can warp. At the same time, both types of boards have their own structural advantages. End-grain boards distribute tension across multiple joints (glue seams), which helps to resist warping. A thick 2.25” One-piece wood cutting board has 50% greater structural mass when compared to a thin 1.5” thick board – the greater mass makes the thicker board much more resistant to warping.
Moisture takes longer to travel through a thicker cross-section of hardwood, reducing the sudden moisture changes that cause thinner boards to cup or bend.
But rules still apply when maintaining any wood cutting board, and we cannot emphasize enough the importance of storing a solid wood board so that air circulates around the entire board. Air circulation on both sides of the board greatly reduces the chance of an internal moisture imbalance in the wood, which minimizes the chance of warping. Store the board on edge with both sides exposed to circulating air, or, if you keep it flat on the countertop, use board feet to allow air to circulate underneath. Equally important is maintaining a protective oil/moisture barrier, which keeps moisture from getting into the wood.
When it comes to “knife-friendly,” End-grain boards have a slight advantage because the glued blocks of wood are oriented vertically. When a knife strikes an end-grain cutting board, the vertical wood fibers act like a bunch of upright straws. The knife edge slices between the wood fibers instead of cutting across them. The difference between end-grain and one-piece board scarring is slight, with shallower scarring on the end-grain board. All boards scar from knife slices.
What matters most is the force applied during slicing and chopping, and whether that force is spread across the board or isolated to a small area. If you're chopping with a cleaver, we recommend a hard maple end-grain butcher block over our beautiful heirloom-quality cutting boards.
Other factors that affect knife scarring and blade dulling include wood hardness and the pressure you apply during knife/cleaver use. Hydration also plays a role; dry wood loses elasticity, causing wood fibers to fracture rather than flex, which increases permanent surface scarring.
Back to the glue seams. End-grain glue seams can become a major problem with poor lamination or when exposed to moisture imbalances, which can lead to cracking, separation, or splintered edges. Gaps can form along glue seams when wood swells and shrinks under changing kitchen humidity. Thick, one-piece wooden cutting boards have no glue seams, so these problems don't apply.
Glued boards may deliver a slight structural advantage in resisting warping, but those same glue seams add potential points of failure. Ultimately, the choice of which board is best may come down to which one is best for you – your personal preference and needs. Again, if you need a board for heavy use and you intend to use a cleaver, we recommend a thick hard maple end-grain butcher block. If you’re looking for a board for daily meal prep with genuine wood character and that can be resurfaced to new condition dozens of times, our thick boards shine.
Both boards are good, both boards can be beautiful, and both boards can last a lifetime, but you’ll need to choose a quality-focused maker.
Preferred Hardwoods
Our preferred Wood Species – Cherry, Walnut, and Hard Maple- have favorable grain structure and hardness, which make them premium hardwoods for making premium cutting boards. Equally important, these wood species are traceable - native to our local Pennsylvania forests. In other words, we know where our wood comes from because we select the logs, saw, and dry the thick slabs for 2 years. This character-grade hardwood is hard to access, and it lets us offer our customers a different kind of cutting board.
Our preferred woods are closed-grain hardwoods and are more sanitary than open-grain wood (ash, oak). Their tight, small pores help prevent food bits and liquids from seeping deep into the wood. Liquid that does get into the wood is trapped, and any bacteria are starved of water and oxygen, where they dry out and die through capillary action.
Which of the preferred hardwoods are right for you?
Cherry is the softest of the 3 woods at 950 lbf and a great choice for those using expensive cutlery and concerned with dulling knife edges. Cherry wood is popular for its rich reddish-brown tones that deepen over time. Walnut is popular for its coffee-brown heartwood and, with a hardness of 1010 lbf, is durable and easy on knife edges. If you intend to use the board heavily, Hard Maple is your best choice. At 1450 lbf, Hard Maple is the hardest of the 3 wood species; it’s denser and heavier.
Regardless of which wood you choose, each is durable enough to last a lifetime.
Note – The abbreviation “lbf” represents pound–force. Janka scale measures wood's resistance to denting and wear. It records the pounds of force needed to embed an 11.28 mm (0.444-inch) steel ball halfway into a wood sample. Higher numbers mean harder, more durable wood, while lower numbers mean softer wood.
No Exotic Wood
We use local hardwood because it’s preferred for premium solid-wood cutting boards, and we know where it comes from. Our native hardwoods' physical characteristics (hardness, antimicrobial properties) are well established and more favorable than exotic wood. Teak is strong, oily, and durable, but it’s also high in silica, which dulls knives. Bamboo is a grass and contains silica; it requires compression with glue and often contains formaldehyde. Acacia wood has many subspecies, most of which vary in hardness, and it is also nearly impossible to trace.
Cherry, walnut, and sugar maple are sustainable, durable, beautiful, and easy on knife edges. We know where each wood slab we use comes from because we process it ourselves, which deepens our connection to it.
Board Thickness determines Look, Durability & Maneuverability
The accompanying photo shows the physical difference between thin boards and thick boards. The 2.25” board has 50% more mass than the 1.5” board, which helps it adjust better to humidity/moisture changes in its environment. Additionally, the 2.25” board is heavier and more stable on the counter, making it more comfortable to use.
Moisture-absorption Imbalances: Warping happens when one side of a wood cutting board dries or absorbs water faster than the other, creating an imbalance and ultimately tension in the wood. A thin board (1.5” and less) lacks the internal structure to fight this pull and warps, whereas a thick board (2.5”) possesses enough bulk to hold its flat shape.
A thick wood cutting board has a wider edge that lets it stand upright easily, allowing air to circulate around the entire board and helping maintain moisture balance inside the wood.
Additionally, board thickness affects every aspect of the board: its feel, look, and longevity. The 2.25” thickness increases durability, allows resurfacing, and creates a bold look that works well as a kitchen accent.
Thick, heavier cutting boards aren’t for everyone, and we strongly encourage anyone considering a purchase to consider our boards' thickness and weight.
Board Construction
Drying the Wood
To understand wood cutting board construction and care, we should first understand that wood is a natural material that constantly reacts to humidity in its surrounding environment. This is the most important factor affecting a wooden cutting board's longevity – all types of wood cutting boards, edge-grain, end-grain, and one-piece, are vulnerable to internal moisture imbalances and ultimately warping.
Perhaps the following information may be TMI, but we believe a little knowledge can lead to a better understanding of anything, and when it comes to expensive premium wood cutting boards, realizing the relationship between wood and moisture is paramount to the longevity of any board.
The relationship between wood and moisture begins with the tree. Hardwood trees here in Pennsylvania grow seasonally. The best time to harvest hardwood is late fall and winter, when trees are dormant and sap levels are low. Lower temperatures reduce the risk of fungal stains, mold, and insect infestations that attack freshly cut logs in warm weather. Less sugar and moisture in the wood during cold-weather dormancy makes drying freshly sawn wood slabs easier and helps prevent cracking or splitting.
First Phase / Air Drying - The drying timeline for hardwood begins with a freshly sawn wood slab with an internal moisture of between 60-100%, which means 100% moisture content weighs as much as the actual wood itself. Freshly sawn wood slabs are slowly air-dried down to 20-15% - it takes about one year to air-dry one inch of hardwood – 2 years+ to dry a 3” thick hardwood slab. When the internal moisture is below 20%, the wood slab is ready for final drying (kiln-drying).
Final Phase / Kiln-Drying - The dehumidification kiln is a controlled area that uses a heat source and fans to pull moisture out of the stacks of hardwood slabs while continuously recycling heat. Wood slabs are stacked inside the insulated chamber where air moves freely. Baffles force fans to push air directly through the stacks of wood rather than around them. Temperature inside the kiln is kept at 135F for 4 weeks – this reduces stress in the wood and kills any insects. After 4 weeks, the wood slabs are tested with a pin moisture meter; at 6 to 8%, they are kiln-dried and ready for use in the wood shop.
Most cutting board makers buy commercially kiln-dried lumber, which is readily available nationwide. Thick, native Pennsylvania Hardwood Slabs are not. To maintain a steady inventory of these thick hardwood slabs, we mill and dry them ourselves.
Board Care
Assuming you purchase a high-quality wood cutting board, how you care for it ultimately determines how long it will last. The most important part of board care is understanding how wood reacts to moisture/humidity in its environment and how to maintain balanced moisture within the wood.
3 Steps to a long-lasting wood cutting board.
Step 1 – Keep the board hydrated, and it will last longer! Food-grade mineral oil penetrates into the wood, but it leaves little protection on the wood surface. Waxes stay on the wood surface, creating a protective shield against liquids and preventing bacteria from growing.
The wax protection helps keep the oils in and the internal wood fibers hydrated longer, which increases the time between conditionings. Our boards receive 3 applications of Odies Penetrating Oil which establishes a strong moisture barrier and leaves buttery smooth surfaces – the customer only needs to maintain it.
Check out Howard's Feed-N-Wax orange oil with beeswax, Cutting Board Conditioner & Butcher Block Conditioner, and Food-Grade Mineral Oil w/ Natural Waxes. Also, Odies Oil, Odies Wood Butter, and Odies Butcher Block Oil.
Step 2 – All thick wood cutting boards must have air circulating around the entire board while being stored. No exceptions. When storing, maintaining a moisture balance in the wood with equal air circulation around the entire board prevents a potential moisture imbalance in the wood, avoiding stress which ultimately results in warping and cracking. Our boards are thick with wide edges and are designed to be stood on edge.
If you intend to store the board flat on the counter, you’ll need to install board feet to lift the board off the counter surface so air can circulate underneath.
Step 3 – Do not store the wood board near a heat source (range, wood stove, or heater) – do not place a wood cutting board in a dishwasher. Additionally, never place hot objects on a wood board! A solid wood cutting board is not a “hot pad” and can warp or crack if used as such.
Conclusion: This information is not meant to discredit either cutting board design, but to emphasize the differences in construction and the importance of proper board use and care. Both glued boards and one-piece boards have a place in the market. What matters most is choosing a quality board and following the maker's care instructions.