Walnut grain on endgrain cutting board

[Matt Roth]

I really like the grain in the "Running Ribbons" cutting board listed about midway down on this page: http://www.krugandryan.com/butcherblock.php (click on the picture to see it up close)

I've made several end grain boards with walnut and don't see the grain pattern shown in the above board. Is the pattern I'm seeing what is lost in the steaming of the walnut? I'd like to make a similar board, but the walnut I usually get my hands on doesn't have that type of pattern. Any thoughts?

[Paul Symchych]

the key to that pattern looks like finding lumber with both heart and sap wood and using just the contrasty interface of the two. That must be difficult to match up to make it look that nice. I tend to pass on walnut with sapwood if I can. Maybe I should start looking for that in the yard or in my trimmings for my next board. I've done something similar but not that pretty with what we get as country maple that has streaky browns mixed with the light. Cherry boards with heart and sap are all too easy to find and could give the same effect.

[keith micinski]

I had some walnut that had a similar design like that and I loved it. I was doing a checkerboard pattern like The Wood whisperer's but it still showed the light and dark.

[keith micinski]

By the way I have apparently been underpricing my cutting boards by about 400% according to that guys prices.

[Matt Roth]

Let me clarify, I'm not talking about the large star-like patterns of sapwood; I'm talking about the stripes in the grain. I don't think any of the walnut I typically get my hands on has such a distinct pattern to the grain.

[Matt Roth]

By the way I have apparently been underpricing my cutting boards by about 400% according to that guys prices.

I'm donating a couple boards for my son's school fundraiser. I'm tempted to reference those prices when I ask for a receipt for tax purposes!

[Josiah Bartlett]

I have a pile of Walnut that looks like that. I harvested a big old urban tree, slabbed it 16/4 and air dried it for 8 years in my garage. It seems to have been a combination of the minerals in the local soil and the air drying process that gave it the good contrast in the grain. If you look closely at it you can see considerable variation between the growth ring coloration from year to year and season to season. Steaming or kiln drying walnut evens out a lot of the color, probably because it makes the minerals migrate around.

[Mike Schuch]

Steaming does seem to take all the character out of walnut.

You might try looking at some Ipe for a color close to walnut with some incredible colors and grain. I don't know about Ipe's suitability for food prep though.

[keith micinski]

Not knowing for sure I would guess the ipe would be ok for food prep but the problem might be that it is to hard even on the end grain. I must have gotten a particulary hard piece of Maple because the last few cutting boards I made from that board people complained about dulling the knives to quickly.

[Bob Murphy]

By the way I have apparently been underpricing my cutting boards by about 400% according to that guys prices.

WOW! Me too.

[Matt Roth]

Well, I have "my version" of the Krug and Ryan Running Ribbon board about ready for it's last glue up. I found a couple of air dried pieces of walnut with streaks of sapwood sitting on the lumber rack, but not enough for the entire board. After using a mix of kiln/steamed and air dried; I conclude the steaming does remove some of the character of the end grain, resulting in a decreased contrast of the grain. I'll get some pics up soon.

[david brum]

You might look into Claro walnut. It grows on the West Coast and seems to have the grain pattern you're looking for.
http://www.woodfinder.com/woods/claro_walnut.php

[Ted Wong]

Walnut is typically steamed during the kiln drying process to homogenize the color. If you want more color variation find some air-dried material.

[Matt Roth]

Well, after application of the finish, I've come to the conclusion that steaming vs air drying doesn't really impact the contrast to the grain, it just makes the brown lighter. The steamed, kiln dried walnut actually has a better contrast than the air dried stuff. I guess each tree is different; I sorted and picked the pieces from the lumberyard that had the most striking endgrain on the racks. The cherry/walnut board is all kiln/steamed, the walnut board contains both. Here's some pics of the finished boards:

183487183488

[Steve Schoene]

It's not kiln drying per se that affects the colors and grain of walnut, it is the excessive steaming process that often accompanies kiln drying. This steaming is done to darken the sap wood. It's not any migration of chemicals from heart wood to sapwood, but just a chemical reaction within the sapwood. But when that steam processing has been done the wood is boring and much more uniform. Air dried, or kiln dried with a schedule that doesn't call for much steam (some is often needed to counteract casehardening) will be quite a bit more lively. Unfortunately, the oranges and purples you often see in such wood doesn't take too long to turn to brown, but you can still retain a range from milk chocolate to dark chocolate in the grain pattern.