No. 131 "Oingo", Walnut, Maple and Purpleheart Cutting Board, 11.875 x 13.75

Walnut on the outside, hard maple next to it, purpleheart straight down the middle. Five stripes, mirrored, because I measured twice for once in my life.

11 7/8 by 13 3/4 inches, 3/4 thick, 5 pounds. Small enough to hand somebody. Heavy enough that they know they've been handed something.

The purple is not a stain. Purpleheart grows that color, which sounds like a lie until you cut into a board and it happens in front of you. It will darken toward brown over a year or two, especially in a sunny kitchen. That is the wood aging, same as the rest of us, and there is nothing to fix.

The pale streak in the walnut on the right is sapwood. Walnut trees are two colors. They have never once apologized for this and I am not going to start on their behalf.

No juice groove. Flat face all the way across, which is what you want for bread, cheese, and things you plan to carry to a table. Four rubber feet underneath, 3/4 inch, so it stays where you put it and air gets under it.

Edge grain. Milled, glued, flattened, shaped and sanded by hand in East Tennessee. Finished with mineral oil and beeswax. Both food safe. Neither one is a snack.

Care

Treat it like cast iron, not like a dish. Hand wash warm, towel dry, stand it on edge to dry the rest of the way. No dishwasher. No soaking. Oil it when it looks thirsty, about once a month, which is roughly as often as you will remember to.

Details

• Black walnut, hard maple, purpleheart
• 11 7/8" x 13 3/4" x 3/4"
• 5 lbs
• Edge grain construction
• No juice groove
• Four 3/4" rubber feet
• Food safe mineral oil and beeswax finish
• Made by hand in East Tennessee

There is one of these. Number 131. When it goes, the next one will not look like it, because I could not do that again on purpose if you asked me to.