Wood is a wonderful thing. No two pieces are alike. There are many species, all with varying characteristics. Color, tone, grain pattern, and density are just a few of the qualities that compose this once living natural material.

Our favorite wood combination is walnut and cherry. This works out well because the encroaching scrap pile from part 1, was composed of just that. Upon further inspection, evidence of Ash and Mulberry was found.

Although wood is wood, there is more to wood than you may think. Let's take a closer look at some of these scraps, and explore some of their unique qualities.

“Our favorite wood combination is walnut and cherry.”

Walnut smells great!

Working with it, leaves the shop a sweet pungent odor. There is nothing like it. Walnut is a hard, closed grain wood with wild sweeping grain patterns. If you are lucky, pieces can be found with lots of crossgrain figure. This crossgrain creates a stunning hologram like effect once finished.

It seems as of late, however, that walnut prices have almost doubled. There was a large beetle infestation that damaged large swaths of walnut tree stands. This beetle kill event, reduced the supply of this highly demanded hardwood, raising the cost per boardfoot.

Walnut hosts a ranges of colors, but focuses its palet on purples and brownish greys.

Walnut is perfect for cutting boards as the dark tones, offset any lighter colored wood paired with it. We like playing with strip thickness when incorporating walnut into our designs. The different proportions create drastic looking boards. Always so fun!

we cannot tell a lie

We want to chop down cherry trees. They always present elegant, creamy hardwood that has been used for centuries to build furniture. Cherry can also be used in cutting board construction. It is one of our favorites!

Cherry is a lighter wood with a range of tones ranging light and dark. As a soft hardwood, Cherry features wide, ornate, fingerprint like grain patterns.

Cherry is very abundant despite a high demand, The high supply creates an affordable option for cutting boards.

Cherry is a soft, yet dense wood, containing light colors and amazing grain patterns. Being affordable and abundant, cherry is a perfect choice for cutting boards.

Plus it pairs so nicely with walnut!

Dense & Durable

When someone mentions rustic hardwood, what comes to mind is something that looks like Ash. Think of a wooden baseball bat or an old wooden tool handle. These used to be made from Ash.

Similar to Hickory, Ash is a rustic sand, almost white colored wood.

This wood is highly available, and is relatively low in price.

Ash will take whatever your knives throw at it. A perfect surface for cutting fresh vegetables.

Don't Eat Unripe Berries

Mulberry is a fruit wood. The tree produces mulberries. If you eat unripe mulberries, you suffer from stomach pain and mild hallucinations. Good to know.

This wood is bright yellow when cut into. With age, it darkens to a color similar to that of cherry.

Mulberry is a soft fruitwood with a muted flame grain pattern, similar to Poplar. This wood is very gentle on you knives. This will keep them sharp longer!

Mulberry seems to be less abundant, at least around our local area. If you find it available, be sure to snatch it up. You will not regret it.

We find thin strips incorporated alongside any wood, add a certain brightness to the overall cutting board design.

possibilities are endless

Cutting boards are really neat. They can be made from various woods, shapes, and patterns. The possibilities truly are endless. Although Walnut and Cherry is a classic combination, it is fun to experiment with other wood species. Other species such as Maple, Purpleheart, and Padauk,

As for the scrap invasion? You will not find a more clever way, to turn all that trash into treasure! Those scraps of wood with defects, weird sizes, and shapes can be transformed into beautiful functional food prep accessories.

Now that you are armed with knowledge about the woods used in the mighty cutting board,

Check out some of our boards right now, and appreciate the essence of the wood! We did all the work for you!

Check ourt our selection of cutting boards!