black walnut safe for cutting board?

[James Ashburn]

Just google "wood toxicity" and you will get plenty of university and wood research sites that give you great data on what is toxic and not. Walnut wood is not toxic but can be an irritant. Try these sites for documented info. http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1148.html
http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/roche/...isc/wood.toxic
No one had dropped dead from using one before and the juglone is not water soluable meaning that what he cuts on the board will not absrob juglone anyway. Mostly juglone is toxic to some plants.

[Ryan Hovis]

Woodworks had an episode were David Marks used Walnut in his cutting board. He warned against using tung oil though as it may go ransid over time. He recommended salad bowl finish.

I disobeyed David! (repents, repents, repents)

[Jim Jones]

... anyone want to see the thing?

Yes Ryan, please post a couple of pics. Thanks.

[Howard Acheson]

Walnut is not toxic to humans unless one has a specific allergy.

Tung oil does not turn rancid and more than linseed oil does. Nor is tung oil toxic. (Be careful here, I am talking about 100% pure tung oil, not one of the faux "Tung Oil Finishes). Both pure tung oil and linseed oil are hardening oils that polymerize (sort of semi-harden). I would not use either for a cutting board or anything that was going to be used for food however. Both have a characteristic odor that lasts a long time and may not be pleasant close to food.

Minerals oil or a mineral oil and wax mixture is the traditional and most used treatment for cutting boards. The wax can be either paraffin or beeswax and is shaved and melted into warm mineral oil.

"Salad Bowl Finish" is nothing more than a thinned varnish. Because it's a film finish, it's a poor choice for something that will be cut on.

[David Keller NC]

One thing to remember with any "drying oil" sold for wood finishing is that they typically have metallic dryers added to them. Boiled Linseed oil used to be full of white lead (lead oxide), but the lead was replaced by cobalt salts in the 1970s. Without these dryers, most drying oils will take a number of years to cure.

I've heard it stated that many oil paintings done in the late 20th century in museums are still curing because the paint was formulated with raw linseed oil.

This is the only flaw I find in Bob Flexner's argument that any cured finish is non-toxic. Certainly, this is generally true of the organic component of the finish, because the polymers that form when the finish cures aren't water soluble (and thus are unlikely to get into your blood stream). Some of the non-organic components, however, I'd be more hesitant about.

[Peter Quinn]

I guess its all been covered, but add one more vote for Walnut wood as non toxic assuming not a horse and no specific allergies. The horse thing I'm sure about, because a farmer collects the wood chips from the cyclone at work for cow bedding, but can't sell it to horse farmers when we are running walnut. The dust irritates many people, I can't imagine you will create enough dust in use to be a problem for the average person.

The finish is another issue. Pure tung oil is non toxic when dry but not generally recommended for food contact. As noted many things sold as Tung oil are not in fact pure tung oil, and may not be at all safe for food contact. Non toxic and safe to consume are two different levels of distinction. I used to be a professional chef before I got into the wood working business, food safe certified. When in doubt, opt towards caution. The majority of food poisoning incidents in this country happen at home.

Typically we used mineral oil or walnut oil (which dries naturally and does not turn rancid), sometimes a light rub of pure beeswax, though some people have honey allergies, don't know if that carries over into the wax? Don't know if I care to accommodate every person with every allergy known to man either, but if some one close to you regularly has such an allergy be aware.

As to the working properties of walnut, it did not get to be North America's premier cabinet making wood (sorry cherry lovers but walnut is still king) on accident or because cabinet makers are insane and love an impossible challenge. It is fairly soft as hardwood goes though hard enough to be durable, mills well, a bit brittle in spots, and very beautiful. It yields crisp profiles when molded and is a major pain to sand without scratching, but hey, nobody is perfect.

Now black locust on the other hand is a bit like milling aluminum.....very hard aluminum, and I'm told its a bit toxic. Stay away from that one.

[Robert LaPlaca]

My mom and dad have had a Walnut cutting board for going on 25 years, it was (and still is) the go to cutting board anything that needs to be carved. Still looks great and none of our large family has suffered any ill effects from the board.

I will add that the safest wood possible is sugar maple... Only finish I would consider on any cutting board is Mineral oil..

[Kevin Godshall]

I have made and sold several cutting boards with walnut used to contrast lighter color woods. Never had a complaint. (Hope it wasn't because my customers died from the walnut..................... )

PS (J/K for anyone who took it serious).

[Jesse Cloud]

I've been making walnut cutting boards for home use out of scrap for about 20 years and I'm still kicking.

If you actually use the cutting board and wash it with soap and water, any finish is going to come off, so I wouldn't worry about the tung oil.

Having said all that, walnut has a natural insecticide in it and some people and animals are sensitive to it, so if you have an allergic reaction, the walnut may be the culprit...

[walter stellwagen]

Since no one has brought up the allergy as to worst case. My daughter has been in the emergency room on several occasions as a result of getting o close to walnuts . She has a nut allergy and as such things go walnut is one of the worst.

Walt

[Charlie Plesums]

As noted, the walnut dust can be irritating (but so can most dust)
As noted, mineral oil is probably the best finish for food-contact projects
As noted, walnut shavings can be bad for horses (as I understand it, when mixed with horse urine, a toxin is created that is absorbed through the horse's hooves)

But nobody has mentioned the great part of walnut shavings... it prevents germination of most seeds. I save my walnut shavings for gardeners who do plants rather than seeds (especially rose gardens), since the plants grow but the weeds can't sprout. A layer under house shrubs keeps the weeds down for several years.

[Jake Helmboldt]

As noted, the walnut dust can be irritating (but so can most dust)
As noted, mineral oil is probably the best finish for food-contact projects
As noted, walnut shavings can be bad for horses (as I understand it, when mixed with horse urine, a toxin is created that is absorbed through the horse's hooves)

But nobody has mentioned the great part of walnut shavings... it prevents germination of most seeds. I save my walnut shavings for gardeners who do plants rather than seeds (especially rose gardens), since the plants grow but the weeds can't sprout. A layer under house shrubs keeps the weeds down for several years.

So I guess the horse urine and walnut shaving concoction is not a good finish for the cutting board?

As for mulch around plants; be very careful. It doesn't just kill weeds. There are a lot of plants that die as well. Offhand I know tomatoes won't grow anywhere near a walnut tree. Do your homework before killing several hundred dollars of landscaping with walnut shavings.

[Jeffrey Langdell]

I prefer to use "Preserve Woodenware Oil". It says it is made of 100% non-toxic nut oils. There are no thinners or driers. Preserve soaks into the wood fibers and actually dries. Minieral oil is a petroleum by-product and never dries. Parafin is also a petroleum by-product. Vegetable oils can turn rancid. I just like to keep things simple and natural.

[paul wiser]

walnut is ok for a board. have made several with no problems reported. as far as i know tung oil is not listed as an acceptable finish for products coming in contact with food. i use either walnut oil (mahoneys) or salad bowl finish.

[Frank Drew]

I can't speak to the toxicity, but I wouldn't want to run a knife across anything that hard. Aluminum is easier to cut than black walnut.

If Ryan is using sugar maple, that's a lot harder than walnut.