Catskill Craftsmen Super Slab with Finger Grooves

4/23/16 I just received my new 20"x20"x3" Catskill Craftsman board two days ago, and I have to say I was quite surprised at the obvious build quality from the moment I opened the box. The board is SOLID...mine weighs almost 40lbs. All of the dimensions are spot on as well. The color was very attractive, but not what I wanted (more on that later...I was fully aware I was buying a natural mapleish toned board). The board was nicely smooth (and more importantly, FLAT), and could easily be used as it was after seasoning. For myself, if that had been my intent I still would have given the thing a good sanding from 400 grit to 1000 grit, but that's a matter of my personal preference, and was certainly not necessary to have a beautiful, useful board.That said, the reason I bought this board was because my old Tree & Co 18x14 MODE board split...AGAIN (it was actually delivered split, and I fixed it...but now it's split again in the same place). I normally season my boards with mineral oil on a daily basis once or twice a day for a few weeks before using, then on a weekly basis with my own board butter formula (2 parts choji oil, one part beeswax, one part coconut oil). So with that said, I was looking to do something different with this board, and since I wanted a darker, more red colored board anyhow (I loved the color of my MODE board)...I went a somewhat controversial direction and used tung oil (WATCO brand salad bowl finish was my base) thinned with equal parts low odor mineral spirits to season it. To this I added Minwax Wood Stain (Red Mahogony 225) until the color was what I wanted. Keep in mind...the idea here is NOT to put a layer of varnish between the wood and the food. It is to put a layer of varnish between each strand of wood and all of the other strands to act as a barrier for moisture that's trying to penetrate the board. The wood surface is still 100% in contact with the food, and so cuts won't ruin any 'seal' the varnish might have made in another type of application, and will still self heal to a large degree. This means it won't trap moisture or food, and can't 'flake' off. This kind of finish is supposed to last YEARS on an end grain board before possibly needing to be reapplied.My method was simple:- Sand to 180 grit.- Mix varnish and mineral spirits in equal parts. Add in stain to suit, remembering that a little goes a long way.- Using nitrile gloves, apply stain/varnish mixture to the top of the board with a soft cotton cloth, until it is no longer absorbing easily (about 4-5 minutes). Wipe off excess.- Let cure 8hrs or so.- Reapply mixture for three coats. After the third coat has cured for 8hrs, begin applying the first of two coats using JUST the clear varnish thinned with mineral spirits. The idea is to use the clear fluid to 'push' the color deeper into the board, providing depth and a protective coat between the pigment and your food surface. SOME people claim the stain is dangerous...I personally think there's things that are worse for you in processed food, once the stain and varnish has cured (the varnish is absolutely food safe, and the rep I talked to at Minwax told me the stain 'technically' is as well...but would not officially go on record of course), and that in this small of a dose, it's not going to be relevant anyhow. Regardless, the layer of clear varnish and the top coat of board butter should be more than enough protection against the infinitesimal bit of stain that might in some way make it to the food.- After the second coat of clear, wipe THOROUGHLY, and let cure until you can no longer smell ANY trace of the mineral spirits, and then add a couple days on top of that to be safe.- Sand to your desired finish. I like ultra smooth boards (this helps repel water also), and sand quickly from 400 grit, through 600, 800, and 1000 grits. I then wet the board lightly to pull up whiskers, and sand with the 1000 until the board will no longer whisker. From there you can use as is, or coat with the board conditioner of your choice. As I said I make my own board butter, and intend to use it to provide that 'healthy board' luster, to bring out the color and depth in the grain, and as an added layer of protection against bacteria and moisture.The pictures below go in order, and since I can't caption them directly, I'll add descriptions here:1, 2 - The board as delivered, still in the packaging.3, 4, 5 - With my old split Tree & Co. 18x14 board, as well as a 265mm gyuto (10.5" edge length chef's knife) for scale.. This thing is monstrous.6 - Materials for sealing.7, 8, 9 - First coats of the varnish mixture. You can see the color has only changed a tiny bit. You can also see the varnish seeping through the back after just a minute or two of application. After this coat I added a bit more stain to the mixture as I wanted more color.10, 11 - Second application of varnish/stain mixture.12 - Third and final application of color mixture. You can see the board is still wet as it's being applied. I also wanted to mention that my process for the back was very simple. Before putting the board up to cure after each coat, I would simply used whatever was left on the cloth to wipe down the back. It was constantly weeping wicked through stain from the front anyhow, as well as rolling down from the sides...so mostly it was just a matter of smoothing out what was there.13 - After the final two coats of only the clear had been applied, wiped off, and dried to the touch.14 - In the kitchen under the warm flood lights (my shop uses 5k lighting lol). Keep in mind that the board butter has not been applied yet, so this color will darken a bit as well as gain some depth and 'glow' of its own from the oils and waxes. Pictured for scale are a 150mm (6" edge) petty knife, a 120mm (4.75" edge) petty knife, and a 100mm (4" edge) paring knife. You can see the color is MUCH nicer in regards to matching my kitchen counters and cabinets.I will be updating this review as time goes on in order to keep you guys informed on the board's durability (or lack of!), as well as the durability of the finish itself. As it sits though, I highly recommend this board!

This is an excellent cutting board.The finish is smooth as can be. You can’t feel any connection between the individual wood pieces. This is in my opinion the biggest sign of good workmanship.The board is flat. There is no unevenness, no swiveling. It rests securely and will not move on a flat surface.The board is well designed. At 3” thick, it’s solid as can be. The corners are a bit more rounded than those of most cutting boards and this minimizes the possibility of them being crushed and causing cosmetic problems.Cutting and chopping on this board is….well…. nice. It’s hard enough to resist marks, but soft enough where you can easily tell you’re cutting on wood. I believe it’s made out of birch, which is similar in hardness to teak.Great product overall, and unlike John Boos, Catskill doesn’t feel the need to price gouge.

I bought this as a gift after owning one for 12 years. My original board is still as good as new after years of heavy use! The price has increased significantly but it is still worth it for a cutting board that will last a lifetime. Heavy oil and conditioning when new then just a touch up once or twice a year keeps it nice.

This board is STUNNING! The craftsmanship is impressive, to say the least. End-grain boards are much more difficult to make. They are much kinder to your knives though and well worth the extra money. This Catskill board is of remarkable quality and exactly what you would expect from American craftsmen.It's big and I have found when preparing a large meal, I have used every part of it. If you have the space, it truly is the perfect size, giving you plenty of room to work. As a bonus, the thickness adds height and proves to be more ergonomical for me as well being 5'9". The weight is wonderful because as you work, it does not move on you. It is completely reversible if you would need it. I do keep it out on my counter. It would be rather difficult to store due to its size. Before I begin preparing food, I simply mist some white vinegar onto the board and wipe dry to clean it.When it arrived, it was just as thirsty as others said it would be. I used a different prepping technique. After 3 or 4 applications of mineral oil, which it soaked up instantly, I wiped it thoroughly dry and let it alone untIl the next morning. I then began applying generous layers of walnut cooking oil. Walnut oil is in the grocery section with your other cooking oils. I chose to finish the board off with walnut oil instead of mineral oil because walnut oil is most certainly food safe. Not that there's anything wrong with mineral oil per se, but it is derived from petroleum, which I am fine with it wicking to the center of the board, but I preferred walnut oil at the top most surface where food dIrectly contacts the board. Despite what you may have been told, walnut oil in particular does NOT go rancid. It is a hardening oil. Therefore, you also don't have to wipe off the excess. It will not damage the finish by leaving it on overnIght. Because mineral oil is so cheap, I started out with that. The problem with mineral oil is that it is a non-hardening oil. Therefore, you do have to thoroughly wipe off the excess after you allowed to sit for about an hour. If not, you can cause orange peel on the board. Hardening oils, such as walnut oil, don't dry but instead harden through polymerization and they provIde more protection. I went through an 8 ounce bottle of walnut oil just preppIng it for its first use. I reapply the walnut oIl a couple tImes a week now. Do not use other food oils though, such as vegetable oil or olive oil, because they oxidize and DO become rancid! In fact, I found a beautiful old 9 Inch butcher block for $2 that had dried out and been discarded in a thrift store. It had cracked a bit on the edge. I sanded down the top and edges to clean up the knife marks. I bathed it in walnut oil. Next morning, after wicking had caused the oil to soak in deeper, the cracks had healed and were completely gone! In short, walnut oil just makes more sense to me on a butcher block, but mineral oil is a little cheaper and will work as well.Because the board is so heavy, you cannot easily haul it to the sink to wash, nor would you want to. The best way to clean it is with white vinegar in a spray bottle. Vinegar is naturally antibacterial and obviously food safe. It kills salmonella, e coli, as well as the other culprits that cause food borne illnesses. Just spray the board with the white vinegar, wipe it dry. While you're at it, you can clean the rest of your kitchen with it too!I have no doubt an heir will enjoy this when I'm gone. With proper care, it's made to last for decades.