Character Clocks

In order to provide you with the highest quality end product, our chopping boards are made using the highest quality grade timbers defined as “prime“ in the timber industry. With wood being a natural material even the use of prime grade timber can sometimes (but rarely) contain imperfections. It is not until this material is machined that these are found. While we work around and exclude what we consider structural defects we do have to include some visual defects in order to reduce wasting precious material. The majority of our chopping boards are single sided and we operate on providing a ‘Grade A’ top surface and a ‘Grade B‘ bottom surface. When gluing a chopping board we are able to move some imperfections to the bottom leaving the top as ‘clean’ as possible. Our double sided boards incur a small additional cost due to requiring two high quality work surfaces. We work on a ‘Grade A’ top surface and a ‘Grade A2‘ second surface. Grade A2 meaning that it may have a few additional defects in comparison to Grade A, yet less than Grade B. While we do grade the surfaces we must stress that these defects are few and far between. In the majority of circumstances you will receive a perfect looking chopping board on both surfaces. Any board that we believe does not live up to these surface grades will fall into our ‘Sale‘ range where the defect is clearly stated. Please see our product images to see the quality we expect you to receive.

We offer seven sizes ranging from our smallest at 350x215mm to our largest at 650x465mm. Boards are 40mm thick with the exception of our slimline style which is 30mm. Chopping boards can also be made to bespoke sizes and thicknesses. *Due to the handmade nature of our chopping boards the tolerances are +/-20mm of the sizes stated here. We generally increase the length of the board if we find that the width is smaller to make sure you are still receiving the same surface area. Jumbo: 650mm x 465mm Extra Large Plus: 600mm x 415mm Extra Large: 550mm x 365mm Large: 500mm x 315mm Medium: 450mm x 315mm Small: 400mm x 265mm Extra Small: 350mm x 215mm

Currently, we have seven species of wood to choose from which include: English Oak, English Brown Oak, American Walnut, American Maple, English Cherry, American Cherry and European Beech. Other Species: Occasionally we source other species such as Wenge, Purple Heart, Iroko, Ash and a few other speciality woods.

We have six styles of boards which cover edge, handle and double sided options. Classic, Standard, Japanese, Slimline, Double and Double slotted.

Our nine ranges include mixed species, special and discounted boards: Original, Stripy, Border, Modernist, Perspective, Special, Thin, Inlay, Sale

Our in stock chopping boards are ready to ship whereas, made to order chopping boards take approximately 2-3 weeks to hand make before they are shipped to you.

We offer two types of handles with our chopping boards: recessed handles which are found on our classic style boards or slotted handles which are found on our double sided boards.

Juice grooves can be added to any of our made to order chopping boards.

We offer a full range of custom designs for every occasion which can be engraved onto any side of the chopping boards as well as on the top surface if required. We can engrave both made to order and in stock chopping boards except the Japanese style board sides due to the tapered edges. Upon ordering, we will be in touch with a selection of designs for you to choose from Finally, once a design is agreed on we will then engrave your board. Our engravings are made by a dedicated computer controlled laser meaning we can engrave very fine text and images with great clarity onto our chopping boards.

When a knife makes contact with the cutting surface it passes between wood fibres rather than cutting them. This prevents the wood from being noticeably damaged as the resilient fibres come back together to close around the cut.

To maintain your end grain chopping board, all that is required is a monthly oil which is easy to apply. An additional step is to also wax the board which adds moisture repelling proprieties and gives your board it’s ‘new’ glossy look back.

As the knife edge slides between the wood fibres rather than cutting them it prevents excessive wear on your knives keeping them sharper for longer.

The end grain of the wood is up to three times harder than the face grain making it an ideal surface to cut on.

Being in a wet, humid environment we use stainless steel screws which will not corrode.

Our boards come with 7mm tall rubber feet which help grip the chopping board to most surfaces. The feet can also be micro adjusted if needed by either tightening or loosening the screws.

Due to the porous, cellular nature of this natural product, and the glue used to join the pieces, certain cleaning techniques should be avoided. Soaking in water will permanently damage your board. Wood will quickly absorb water, which will cause it to swell, crack, or warp. The glued pieces will then have a tendency to separate. For health and safety, always begin food preparation with a clean surface and tools. For clean-up after light use, such as preparing vegetables, wipe down your wood cutting board with hot, soapy water. Wipe up any excess water quickly and pat dry with clean paper towels. For foods such as: poultry, seafood, and meat, we recommend using an antibacterial spray. Follow the same cleaning routine as above then spray the surface with disinfectant applying it to all sides. Leave for a few minutes, then pat dry with clean paper towels. To prevent bacterial cross-contamination of foods, a thorough clean-up of your chopping board is a must after use. We strongly recommend using separate boards for particular foods where possible.

All wooden items with constant contact with food and water need regular maintenance in order to keep them looking and behaving at their best. For our chopping boards all that is required is monthly oiling. During the winter months we recommend reducing the time between oiling to two-three weeks as the dry air causes the board to dry out quicker. Our pharmaceutical grade, food safe, pure mineral oil is applied liberally to the surface of the board and left to soak in overnight. The oil penetrates deep into the wood pores making your board become more resilient to liquids. We also offer a board wax which is a special blend of the same high quality mineral oil but with the addition of natural filtered beeswax. The wax has a soft butter like consistency and is easily wiped onto the board and left to soak in overnight. Our wax greatly improves the woods ability to repel water by filling the wood pours as well as giving your chopping board its glossy look back. This can also be applied monthly.

During our quality control we check the levelling of the feet using a surface plate which ensures that the board will not wobble on a flat surface upon arrival. Overtime as the wood moves you may need to adjust the feet a small amount. This can be done by turning two diagonally opposite screws 1/4 turn at a time. Tightening the screw reduces the foot height while loosening the screw will achieve the opposite

1 year limited warranty - All of our chopping boards have a one year guarantee which covers manufacturing issues or wood defects such as cracks and splitting. As mentioned in our wood movement section, wood can expand and contract by small amounts depending on the levels of moisture in your home. This small level of movement usually goes unnoticed with boards that have feet. The feet increase grip, reduce the amount of contact area to the work surface, while increasing air flow under the board and keeping moisture levels balanced. With double sided boards however, movement is more noticeable as they are placed directly on the work surface. Even a very small amount of wood movement will make the board unstable. This is why we recommend they are placed on a soft towel during use. This movement is not covered under our warranty. Once a board has made it through a full year in your home it has passed through the winter months where the air tends to be drier due to central heating, which can cause the board to shrink. Then through the summer months where warm air brings higher humidity this will cause the board to expand. After this one year period any defect would have become apparent and you can expect with regular maintenance and following our best practices guide that your chopping board will last a long time.

Before shipping we inspect each chopping board to make sure there are no defects or damage to the board. We also check the levelling of the feet using a surface plate which ensures that the board will not wobble on a flat surface. If you find that the board wobbles upon arrival it may be sitting on an uneven surface and require the feet adjusting to compensate. With use the wood may move and require that the feet need further adjustment.

While we can't give you an exact timeframe with the correct care and following our cleaning and maintenance tips you should get many years out of your chopping board. My first end grain chopping boards that I made for my family which are in heavy daily use are still going strong ten years later and I can't imagine that they follow my strict recommended cleaning and maintenance regimes. I must stress that wood being a natural material you can never tell what will happen, as mentioned in our warranty section once a board has complete a yearly cycle in your kitchen you can expect it to last a long time!

There are two rare issues that can occur when owning an End Grain Chopping Board: Cracking and Bowing: We avoid the chance of our chopping boards cracking and bowing by using not only high quality kiln dried timber but also storing the timber in the same humidity and temperature you would find in an average house. This way the timber has already acclimatised close to your kitchens environment resulting in a much less chance of the wood wanting to shrink/expand. Cracking If cracking does occur in your chopping board in means the wood has dried from use/cleaning/environment/excessive heat and no regular oiling/waxing. In order to replenish the woods moisture content and its water repelling abilities oiling and waxing should occur at least monthly, doing so should also help close up any small cracks. Bowing Bowing is when the top and bottom of the chopping board change moisture contents to one another. This results in either one side shrinking due to the wood drying out or expanding from too much moisture. For example if you leave water on the top surface it will soak into the board and the wood will expand, on the other hand leaving the top of the board to dry out by not replenishing the oil will cause it to shrink. It is important to oil both sides of the board, however to try and fix a bowed board you want apply oil to the concave side to cause the wood to expand. We do stress that issues are rare and following our End Grain Chopping Board tips will result in a chopping board that lasts a long time.