A knife is an eminent kitchen tool. It is equally significant for an avid chef as for a person prepping food at home.
A sharp knife helps you to chop veggies, fruits, meat, fish, bread, and other items quickly. Well-sharpened knives take the burden off your shoulders. With a high-quality chef’s knife set, you can slice foodstuff without exerting too much pressure.
However, ultra-sharp knives can become dull within a month if you are working with them on a hard surface.
Yes, your cutting board can ruin the knives and make them dull fast.
Don’t panic.
To help you avoid problems, we have provided an overview of various chopping boards that ruin knives. We have also compiled a list of the best cutting boards good for keeping knife blades functional for years.
Why do Some Cutting Boards Dull the Knives
When buying a butcher board, we mainly look at the aesthetics to match our kitchen decor. But some serious concerns urge the need to do a bit of research before buying a slicing/dicing board.
The knife blades hit the cutting board surface randomly several times a day. The edges of a sharp knife are too thin. Repeated forceful hitting on a stony surface destroys the evenness of the edges, making them dull fast.
Over time, the edges of the knife can become rolled (due to bending). The uneven, rounded, or bent edges are hard to see with bare eyes.
Therefore, the rule of thumb is to choose the best chopping board to protect the sharp cutters from damage.
Now let’s delve in to see which cutting boards can destroy your knives.
#1. Glass Cutting Board Dull Your Knives Quickly
Glass kitchen boards are extremely popular among buyers. One reason is the wow glossy look. But they are not designed for chopping and slicing jobs.
A toughened glass board is scratch-resistant and too hard surface for the knives. The prolonged use can blunt the knife blades. The edges of the blade bend faster when you apply force repeatedly on the tool.
If you already have a glass cutting board, there are other things to do with it. I would rather prefer to use it for rolling pastries, kneading dough, and cutting soft foods like fruits, sandwiches, etc.
It is wise to avoid cutting veggies and meat with a sharp knife on a glass surface. Glass is extremely slippery, so stuff slips easily on it. This can be hazardous and cause injuries.
Pros
- Hygienic
- Easy to clean
- Variety of designs and patterns
- Affordable
- Requires less maintenance
Cons
- A slippery surface can cause accidents
- Breakable due to force
- Very noisy
- Requires careful storage
- Reduces knife sharpness fast
#2. Are Marble Cutting Boards Safe for Knives
Marble cutting boards are available in many colors, shapes, and sizes. With so many choices around, it is easy to get one for various cooking tasks.
Much like glass, marble is not a suitable material for cutting boards. Marble is a hard stone with a non-porous surface. It is frustrating to bear the loud noise when chopping vegetables, fruits, or meat on a marble chopping board.
Marble is more of a countertop material than used for cutting purposes. But I prefer to knead and flatten the dough and make burgers, on these boards due to their smooth non-sticky surfaces. Put your hot pans on these surfaces with peace of mind.
Pros
- Safe for food preparations
- No risk of cross-contamination
- Effortless cleaning
- Long-standing
Cons
- Produces clacking noise while cutting
- Too heavy
- Dulls knives very fast
- Degrades due to acidic food contact
#3. Can Granite Cutting Boards Blunt the Knives?
Granite is the top choice for countertops in modern homes. The sheen surface, admirable design, and sophisticated appeal of granite make it the perfect choice for kitchen remodeling.
Yet again, granite can destroy knives as fast as marble and glass chopping boards. Moreover, the material can lose its zeal due to acid erosion.
Pros
- Charismatic appearance
- Stands high temperatures
- Smooth surface
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Hygienic
Cons
- Tough on knife blades
- Fades due to acid action
#4. Will Bamboo Cutting Board Dull Your Knives?
Similar to all the above options, bamboo is hard enough to make the edges of the knife blades rounded. Due to the high silica component, it is 19% harder than maple chopping boards (the best wood cutting board for knives).
Bamboo is the choicest item for buyers looking for sustainable kitchen items. However, it is suited for some light-prepping tasks only. You will need to use oil if you are kneading dough on it.
Pros
- Inexpensive
- All-natural material
Cons
- Damages the knife blades
- Higher risk of food contamination
#5. Are Composite Boards Good for Your Knives
People are fond of Epicurean cutting boards these days. It is the most popular composite board brand.
Composite boards are made of wood, fibers, and phenolic resins. These boards are good-looking, made of heavy-duty material, and durable.
Unfortunately, these boards are not best suited for cutting purposes. These semi-hard cutting boards also dull the knives after some time.
If you have one at home already, it is good to use it for other kitchen tasks.
Pros
- Looks good
- Long-lasting
- Available in many sizes and designs
- Affordable
Cons
- Reduces the sharpness of your knives
- Produces loud sound when cutting
Best Knife-Friendly Cutting Boards
Wood is the most preferred chopping board material recommended by pro chefs worldwide.
There is a myth among buyers that wood butcher boards are not hygienic, posing a risk of cross-contamination.
According to UC Davis, research reports on cutting boards, wood is a safe material for food contact compared to plastic.
If a wooden board is contaminated with bacteria after slicing meat or other foods, the porous material tends to pull the pathogens into the deeper layers. There is no risk of germs returning to the surface as it collapses after reaching the lower layers due to dehydration.
Well-maintained wooden cutting boards with reversible ends can keep you safe against the risk of bacterial contact.
Wooden butcher boards have relatively softer surfaces that allow the knife edges to work seamlessly on surfaces. The process eliminates the risk of bending issues keeping your knives functional for a longer duration.
Check the Janka Hardness Rating when Buying Wood Cutting Boards
Janka hardness rating is the unit for measuring the hardness rating of wooden materials. These ratings are measured in pound-force (lbf). High rating Consider choosing chopping boards with a higher rating which means the material is less prone to scratches, wearing, dents, etc.
4 Best Wooden Cutting Board Materials
Maple: One of the top choices for cutting boards, maple measures 1450 lbf. Both soft and hard maple wood are supreme dicing board materials. The impact-resistant wood is safe for food contact, does not get stains, and blocks germs.
Beech: A close-grained and food-safe beech cutting board measures 1300 lbf on the hardness scale. It is good to keep your knives sharp for the long term. The porous surface of this wood makes it protective against bacterial build-up, stains, and rotting due to moisture contact.
Walnut: A soft, close-grained material, walnut boasts a 1010 lbf hardness rating. This wood shrinks slowly so, it requires less conditioning compared to maple or beech cousins.
Teak: Rated 1070 lbf on the hardness scale, teak is also a splendid knife-friendly chopping board material. However, it has large pores so imposes a higher risk of moisture clogging, bacterial growth, and staining.
Pros
- Does not blunt the knife edges
- 100% plant material
- Non-toxic
- Matches the green kitchen décor theme
- Easy to resurface and maintain
Cons
- Can rot due to long-term water contact
- Not suitable for washing with strong bleaches
Not mention re teak is its high silica content, which dulls edges more quickly than other woods. Maple is best, I think, but it should a) ROCK maple and b) end-grain maple, not edge-grain. Many retailers and most consumers don’t know the difference. Looking at an edge-grain board your can ‘read’ the grain running left to right. In time, you’ll wear a slight, almost invisible hollow into the area where you do most of your cutting. That will prevent your cuts from going all the way through to contact the board. (Maybe you noticed that when slicing green onions many of the slices weren’t separate–still joined to each other at the very bottom? olution: rotate your board and cut on the less-used part.) Edge-grain boards are assembled from many small blocks about the size of kids’ alphabet blocks; they are more resistant to wear–and unfortunately much more expensive. Always use the largest board your counter (and wallet) will accommodate. Always SLICE rather than chop–it’s better for both knife an board. (That’s why all knives seem to get dull but bread knives seem to stay sharp forever.)