black walnut safe for cutting board?

[Ryan Hovis]

I made my dad a small cutting board out of black walnut and maple scraps, sealed it with 5 or 6 coats of tung oil and let it cure. he is convinced he is going to drop dead if he comes in contact with the walnut because he heard it is toxic. I call upon my colleagues to disspel this myth

though I hardly consider gluing up some scraps and rounding one edge woodworking, anyone want to see the thing?

[Eric Larsen]

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.

[Rick Levine]

I'm far from an expert but I'm not sure I would have used tung oil on the board. I think Norm made a black walnut bowl on his lathe and used walnut oil on it. If you can use walnut for a bowl to serve from it should be ok for a cutting board, IMHO. It will be great to hear from more experienced users.

[David Bodkin]

Unless your dad is a horse (toxic to them) or allergic to walnuts I don't think there would be a problem to using walnut. As for the Tung oil, I'm not sure. I'd think that if the cutting board was kept soaked with mineral oil or some other food safe oil you would get very little, if any, walnut oil from the cutting board. I've made a couple cutting boards using walnut, cherry, and mineral oil and no one has died yet.

[Christopher Fletcher]

I made some bread boards for x-mas last year out of peruvian walnut and my family is still alive. I finished the boards (all 6) with salad bowl finish over mineral oil. Turned out just fine, I think...

[Mark Rios]

Walnut wood, as opposed to walnut dust, is safe (allergies and sensitivities notwithstanding) as long as you don't eat it. Walnut is used all the time in cutting boards and other kitchen items.

However, the Tung Oil is another issue. I agree that this wouldn't be a good choice for a board that will be used. Generally, plain ol' mineral oil is used on cutting boards. Some folks like to melt some paraffin wax or bees wax into the oil. Some swear that this gives better life to the surface and some can take it or leave it.

Personally, I wouldn't eat off of a board that had been finished with anything but mineral oil (with or without bees wax ), except maybe "Salad Bowl Finish" but I don't know much about that.

A wooden cutting board needs maintenance in the form of reapplication of mineral oil when the board starts to get dry or, better yet, on a regular schedule for a board that is used everyday.

hth jmo

[John Keeton]

Walnut dust is a sensitizer to many people and can irritate the eyes, sinus membranes, etc. Prior to getting my DC system, when I worked with walnut I got flu like symptoms - aching, joint soreness, etc. for a day or two. I don't even want to think about what my lungs look like!

On the other hand, I don't think it has any effect for the uses you are mentioning. It is used in food vessel and utensil applications all of the time. And, people have been using walnut furniture, gunstocks, etc., for all long as those things have been in existence.

Edited to state that Mark and I were on the same wavelength - he just types quicker!

[Scott Rollins]

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.

[Russ Filtz]

Same thing with any organic based oil, such as the walnut oil mentioned. They may go rancid over time. Best to stay with the mineral oil, paraffin, etc. (or beeswax I guess even though that would be organic?)

[Thomas Pender]

I make cutting boards, etc., every year for Christmas gifts - I use maple (sometimes even birds eye scraps) and walnut together and they are attractive together. However, I finish it with salad bowl finish (which looks super). To my knowledge, no one has been made sick yet.

[alex grams]

I've used walnut on cutting boards for a while (good contrast in color with some maple). Finish them with mineral oil every so often and never had a problem.

[Jim Becker]

Unless your dad is a horse (toxic to them) or allergic to walnuts...

Bingo on the first one, and maybe on the second...but not an issue otherwise to the best of my knowledge.

[Don Bullock]

When I took woodshop in junior high school (in 1962) I made a walnut cutting board. My mother used it a lot. Since I'm still alive I don't think your dad needs to worry.

[Barry Richardson]

Ozark West (google for more info) is the industry leader in high end cutting boards, their most popular one is black walnut. BTW someone mentioned that black walnut is hard...it's not, it's about midscale in hardness.

[jason lambert]

As stated unless he is deadly alligeric to wallnuts there is no issue and even if he is I have never herd a issue of a cutting board causing a reaction and I have been doing EMS for 20 years. The tung oil is suppose to be safe when dry, in any case every finish is suppose to be safe once dry. But I would use salid bowl oil next time.