News — knife care

If you want to protect a thin 15° Japanese knife edge, the safest chopping boards are medium to soft wooden boards that are at least 2 cm thick, such as bamboo or acacia, in sizes around 38x28 cm to 45x35 cm. Hard glass, ceramic and stone boards can dull a Japanese blade in a single session, while a well chosen wooden board can keep it sharp for 5 to 10 years of regular home use. Why board material matters so much for Japanese knives Japanese knives are usually hardened to 60+ HRC and ground to a finer edge than most...

If you want your knives to stay sharp for 5 to 10 years with regular honing and only occasional professional sharpening, the best cutting board for knife care is usually a medium soft wood like acacia, not a hard moso bamboo chopping board. Bamboo boards are eco-friendly and look smart, but their hardness and silica content can dull a fine edge up to 30% faster than a comparable wooden board in normal home use. Why bamboo chopping boards can be harsh on knives Bamboo is technically a grass, not a wood. Moso bamboo, which is used in most kitchen boards,...

If you want a chopping board that doesn't dull knives, choose a medium hardness wood or bamboo board around 38x28cm to 45x35cm. In our tests at Deer & Oak, knives kept a sharp working edge for 5 to 10 years on our 45x35cm Large Bamboo Board and 45x35cm Large Acacia Board, compared with as little as 1 to 2 years on glass or ceramic boards. What makes a chopping board "knife friendly"? When people ask for the best chopping boards that don't dull knives, they are really asking about surface hardness and how the board reacts to the blade. Your...

If you care about how long your knives stay sharp, plastic chopping boards are usually gentler on the blade edge than glass or ceramic, but a well made wooden board around 45x35cm will keep a quality kitchen knife sharper for 2 to 3 times longer than a cheap, hard plastic board. In other words, plastic is not automatically better for knives, and premium bamboo or acacia often wins for long term edge protection. Plastic vs wooden chopping boards: what is actually better for your knives? When people ask “are plastic chopping boards better for knives”, they usually want to know...