Wooden cutting boards crack when they're not maintained. Here's how to care for them. 

Damn, between oiling my cutting board and seasoning my cast iron, I don’t have much time left for my family.

Glad I showed up for my daily scolding

I bought a Boos board for 50% off because it was listed as having "imperfections". There were 2 internal blocks where 1 side of each had delaminated from the block next to it ~1-2mm. The wrapping was still on the board, so know it came from the factory that way. Based on another video, I melted non-toxic brown Crayola Crayon into the cracks and could then use a razor blade to scrape off the crayon above the surface before I touched up with some light sandpaper, then mineral oil on top. I ended up using a butane "torch" lighter to keep melting more crayon on the cracks, because when the crayon was liquid, air bubbles kept percolating up from the crack, so the delamination must have gone some distance into the board. Finally, once air bubbles stopped percolating up through the melted crayon was I confident the gaps had been filled. After scraping, then sanding, then oiling, my board looked like new. A year later after regular oilings, my board still looks like new (maybe a bit darker, from all the oil). During the first month, I oiled it every few days. Now I oil it about once a month. Cutting on the board feels so much better (and better for my quality, sharp knives) than cutting on plastic. It also looks great.

Fantastic advice, i bought a Boos Block a few weeks ago and didn't think i needed the oil & wax for a while but i felt the board was a little dry after 1 week of use. I bought the boos products and after applying the mineral oil (by hand) which really makes a huge difference as you get a feel as to whether the board can absorb more whereas using a cloth i don't think you add enough the board really started to take on a much deeper cherry wood gloss. I still think the board could probably use a few more coats of mineral oil before i add the wax but this video gives a great description of what is going on with your board and why its so important to maintain it.

I live in a part of the US that gets very cold in the winter. I find that there isn't enough humidity in my home during the winter which exacerbates cracking of wood cooking tools. I have found the regular use of Boos oil to be the only thing that prevents the wood from cracking. Great video.

I have a nice, large board from Teakhouse that has been thoroughly oiled monthly since I bought bit a year ago. It is beautiful and I love it. I also have a piece of oak cabinetry that my father made for me before he died. He had an older (mid 1970s) butcher block top that has been maintained since when he purchased it. I expect my children to fight over it when I am gone, along with the vintage Wagner cast iron that he gave me :) Take care of your stuff and it will take care of you ❤️

Thank you for saving my beautiful cutting board and also my two tiny slim cutting boards which I use for the smelly stuff. No one ever explained that to me and your son did a beautiful job showing how it’s done. I also bought a beautiful small breakfast cutting board for my friend and after oiling it generously, it looks like a million bucks!

I really been enjoying your channel. After your video , I oiled my Boos board right away . A great reminder to be proactive vs waiting till it’s too late .

Jed, WOW!! ANOTHER awesome,informative, educational and entertaining video, you are helping sooo many people to protect and prolong their investments, once again, thank you, and good on you!!!

Perfect timing! My BooS board came in last night and now I know how to really break it in

So excited to be getting my new boos board. I am going to oil it without use for a week or 2 and then start using it. I didn't know about what exactly the beeswax did, thank you so much! A great video.

Great episode

I LOVE your videos!!

I have gifted and sold several cutting boards in recent years. Only one, end grain, has come back: it was severally deformed along one sideways seam with slight delamination in another. It was totally fixable: two weeks just sitting in my shop dried it out and returned it to flat (proving that water had been allowed to soak in.) Then I resawed the damaged seams on my table saw, re-glued (Titebond III), and finally re-oiled. While many board owners will not have the necessary tools and experience, most handymen and woodworkers will. One of the beauties of wood is its workability and resilience. Recently I have become interested in trying 100% pure Tung oil and am about to use it for the first time. It is said to deliver a drier (than mineral oil) and still penetrating seal. Watch out for some that is not pure, having petroleum products or others added.

Oh my god thank you for this video , you explain in huge detail why I’ve been destroying my boards. I just bought a BooS board and is quite expensive came looking for advice this is great. Question, I don’t have easy access to boos oil and cream (don’t live in USA), what are good replacements for this? You said mineral oil should I add something to it? And bees wax right

No way Jose. I did everything right and my Boos board still got delaminated after a couple of months which was too late to get a refund. It was my second expensive board to let me down, so I went back to my cheap and sturdy bamboo board (the one I've never oiled because it's so cheap, it doesn't derve it, but has never cracked). Come to think of it, not sure why I was so dismissive of my cheap bamboo board when it does the job, it's so light and easy to wash and dries quickly and takes neglect gracefully.

After oiling, Why stand on its edge ? any reason not to leave flat on a rack? what ever is best i would prefer to follow, thank you

By far the best video out there on the topic thanks! (And f*** to youtube for removing dislikes count that makes it way harder to find good vid like this one)

Hey man, fantastic information and I wish I had seen this video a week ago! I might have messed up a little and was wondering if you have any tips: I bought a Boos board as well as the oil and cream. I oiled the board heavily for 2 full days (re-applying when necessary) until it was definitely no longer soaking up oil, or at least as far as I could tell after letting it sit for another day. Where I think I messed up is that after oiling for 2 days and letting it sit for 1 day (and wiping off excess) I applied the cream, I didn't know to keep oiling for an extended period of time before applying cream. It seems like the cream will prevent new oil from penetrating, is this correct? If so, then is there a way I can reliably remove the cream so I can go back to oiling? It has been about a week and my board doesn't look dry, but I feel like I should be oiling it more. Any help is appreciated, and thanks for the vid!

Thanks so much for putting this out there! In Feb I purchased a 24 x 18 x 2.25 Maple Boos and didn't realized just how important this was! I can now protect my $180 USD investment! Do you have any thoughts on light sanding with super fine 200+ grit sandpaper every couple of years to spruce it up?

Hey! first time here and wow what an amazing video. Best on RU-vid for learning about how to oil and care for your cutting board, so thanks for making this! I would like your opinion on something though. I've been researching different boards to buy and everyone is saying end grain boards have a higher chance of delamination and also that they soak up more oil. Based on your video though, I would imagine that as long as one maintains their boards like you have taught, even an end grain board won't delaminate more often than an edge grain board. Would you agree? (I'm asking because I think aesthetically I love end grain design more than edge grain, but I also want the best quality to last me forever) THANKS!

I heard tung oil is best? Any advice on that?

I bought a Boos board from Williams Sonoma, and it had a small crack in it when i bought it, i do oil my boards but the crack spread enough it now leaks through when carving roasts turkeys, so they do have flaws in them on occasion

Well I just purchased a Boos Maple board from your website but wanted to order the oil but it is not on your website to order which I find sad because I love one stop shopping. However excited because currently I ordered wusthof knives and want to make sure I have a great board so I don't unnecessarily dull my knives.

I unwrapped the boos from its plastic wrap and it was delaminated. It does happen and its not my fault not seeing the crack as the paper cover was blocking it in the wrapping. @6:04

Good information thank you. Have a related question, as I’m getting older meat board are beginning to be a bit to heavy for me so I just bought a extra large bamboo board. I am oiling it what’s you opinion on them? Or option? Thank you in advance

I just received my Boos Block cutting board a couple of days ago and it has a lot of dry patches. I'm on day 2 of the oil process and they are just as noticeable as day 1. Do you know if this will ever go away? I think it looks terrible considering what I spent on the board. Thanks for the great video!

Do we need to re-oiling it every time after washed? Thanks

Hi very well information thank you. Question I bought the end grain walnut cutting board very rough. I washed it and I keep putting the mineral oil but it’s still very rough. soaking it though $300 for not cheap should I return it or is it going to get smooth as I work on it and I was disappointed help thank you

When u first get the board if you’re are using it and washing it daily should the oil be applied once a week or more often?

Hi Jed, I just recently purchased the boos butcher block but I’m planning to send it to Philippines and it will take 3 months before they receive it. Should I open the package and oil it first for a week or two or just send it straight.. what would you recommend?

Which bees wax are you referring to for the delaminate? I recently picked up a john boos block

Hi. I don't find that brand here in Europe. Could you suggest another one? And what do you think about the Victorinox cutting boards because they are like the Epicurean you suggested.

I got a 5/8" small cutting board decades ago, idk, at the grocery store and used it now&then. After years it was dry and fuzzy kinda, like you said, dry skin but w/o splitting. Decided to get off the couch and start oiling it. Glad I looked into it 1st so I wouldn't get the wrong oil. Found food grade mineral oil at CVS but you got to look in the area for laxatives. My wife thinks I'm nuts for that. So you never got into why the oil and wax. But when you got to the cream and filling in cracks I guess it's to seal it. Do I HAVE to use wax? Or is the oil enough? Like I said don't use it much.

I never noticed the Bee's wax at the bottom of the bottle before. Should it be shaken periodically? It doesn't say to do so on the bottle so, just wondering?

So you should Oil Weekly! What about the board cream? Do you use the board cream with the Oil? Or just board cream weekly?

Yes all that he says is true. However, they started making them 150 years ago and I think I bought one that had been hanging around and dried out over years in the warehouse then unfortunately I got the board and BAM …… crack! Oh and btw way I oiled often like ALL THE TIME! I have another board that I have had for 22 years and is still perfect!!!

So after washing my cutting board I let it dry all night then oil it. I’ve am curious if letting it dry all night will dry out the board too much before the oil is applied. I’ve been eyeing a boos but want to make sure what I’m doing is correct before I purchase one.

I use denatured coconut oil, it seems to do ok?

Ok, so I oiled my board last night and was going to put another coat on this morning and discovered a crack..so, I have sent pics and email off to JB. Guessing this board is going back?

Nice new T-Shirt ;-)

Maybe I missed it, but how often should you be oiling? After each washing?

Quick question. Just received my Boos board and unwrapped it. Any benefit to washing it prior to oiling the board? Or, just hit it with oil before use? Thanks!

How do you clean your giant counter cutting board?

I’ve read that a good way to disinfect large wood countertops is with a mix 2 oz of bleach and 32 oz water in a spray bottle. What are your thoughts? I use John Boos mystery oil and their cream and take good care of my John Boos countertops. How do you disinfect your countertops? Your videos are incredibly helpful. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks for the wisdom. Do you know of a good place in the USA to buy a "bench hook" cutting board? I call it a "bench hook" because that's what my Dad called it. It's a relatively thin (3/4" to 1" thick) cutting board where the ends have a vertical (perpendicular) piece of wood that goes up at one end and down at the other end and "hooks" over the front of the counter. I used to use my grandmother's as it was especially large and extremely useful for rolling out large pieces of dough for challah. I've looked online for them and in good cookware/bakeware stores, but I've yet to find such a cutting board in these stores. Short of making one myself, which isn't going to happen, I'd love to find one somewhere if I could for a reasonable price as I know that at my age (over 50+) I'd have it for the rest of my life.

Not a fan of maple as it can be rough on knife edges. Teak would be the ideal choice for a variety of reasons. As well, it's a good idea to heat the conditioner in the microwave or whatever as that will allow it to maximally penetrate the board. And I know you sell and promote Boos, but all those expensive conditioners and oils are really not necessary. In general, a pharmaceutical grade (USP or NSF certified) mineral oil works beautifully and is dirt cheap. It's perfect for general ongoing maintenance and won't break your wallet. A conditioner which includes wax is a good idea to apply maybe two or three times a year. But there are excellent conditioners (Howard's for example) that are far cheaper than Boos. Boos makes good products, but in my opinion is overpriced.

Effingham, IL is not just West of Chicago.

Hey Jed, thanks for the video! I would have to say that hard wood chopping boards might be durable and nice to have, but will dull your knives pretty quickly. Rubberised cutting boards are the go to in terms of knife edge retention :) Cheers!

You don’t do the edges as well? Didn’t see tou do it on video.

So is it my fault if the board delaminates?

Can I use my board after I have delaminated it?

I have a split Boos board someone didn't oil enough. Can I use wood glue and clamps on it and slowly oil it every day for months to bring it back or will it always want to split or warp?

Can you just use mineral oil bought at a hardware store? I purposely bought food grade mineral oil for my boards.

lol, tough cutting board love

The End grain will take about 2 bottles of mineral oil. Well worth it $500 yup I’m oiling the sucker. Thank you for telling it the way it is. I oil mine like 1x month. I’ll start oiling them weekly. They are so beautiful and awesome. I love my Boos. I never put them away because I’m always using them. I get compliments on them. I use a plastic mat over them but it’s not necessary. Thank you for the education on them. Will you do a tutorial on how to make a mineral and wax paste to protect the board? The Boos paste can be expensive especially now. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

How about cleaning the board after use? I feel like just using cool or warm water and a cloth or brush would be best so as to minimize drying out, unless I've used it for cutting meat/chicken/fish, in which case I would use hot water and Castille soap.

Found this while checking boad brands for purchase, 100% not going Boos based on this video. Has to be a poor glue up or weak glue if the board needs more oil than my car

Why does it matter who’s at fault for a delaminated board?

whatever you do,,, don't fall in that kitchen. those knives are something medieval!

Waffle up to 1:44

I would advise anyone to heavily reconsider using petroleum products on anything that goes in or on the body. Petroleum does not belong in people! Use another alternative natural oil, like traditional olive.

Can I just smelt some beeswax and rub it in?

Have to buy a wooden cutting board that isn’t glued pieces of wood. Buy a cutting board made of one solid wood.

personal responsibility??? Its 2022 not my fault LOL

Boos cutting boards split too much. Buyer beware

This could've been a 5 min video. Very repetitive

I washed my board with water (to get dust off after sanding) and let it dry before oiling and now it's bowed. Can you help explain the best way to get it back to being flat again? Thanks!