Cutting Board Care

Every Charis Studios cutting board leaves our Leo, Indiana workshop sealed, signed, and ready for a long life at your table — whatever its grain or species. Here's how to keep it beautiful for decades, and what to do when life happens to it. Questions anytime: we're a quick note away.

Everyday care

  • Hand wash with warm water and mild dish soap. A soft sponge is all it needs.
  • Towel-dry right away, then let it finish drying standing on edge so air reaches both faces evenly — even drying is how a board avoids warping.
  • Never soak it, never put it in the dishwasher, and don't leave it flat in a puddle.

The renewal ritual

Your board left the shop conditioned with Timber Silk — our own hand-blended board butter of food-safe mineral oil, triple-filtered beeswax, and a touch of carnauba. The oil sinks in to nourish the wood; the waxes stay on the surface to seal out water. Every board ships with a tin of Timber Silk to get you started. When the wood starts to look pale or feel dry (every 1–3 months with regular use):

  • Warm a small amount of Timber Silk between your hands, work it into every face and edge with a cloth, let it rest twenty minutes (or overnight), then buff off whatever didn't absorb. A little goes remarkably far.
  • Recondition more often in the first few months — new wood is thirsty — then settle into a monthly rhythm.

When life happens

  • Onion ghosts & fish memories: scrub with half a lemon and a handful of coarse salt, rinse, dry.
  • Knife scars: a light hand-sand with 320-grit followed by a fresh coat of Timber Silk erases the worst of them.
  • Raw meat: wash promptly with hot soapy water and dry standing up. Wood is naturally inhospitable to bacteria, but promptness is the real hygiene.
  • Keep it away from radiators, stovetops, ovens, and long stretches of direct sun.

The long view

These pieces are built to be repaired, not replaced. Sanded, re-oiled, re-buffed — a Charis Studios board in year twenty should look like it has lived well, not like it has worn out. If yours ever needs more than a home ritual can fix, write to us. We'd rather restore a piece than see it retired.

Caring for a resin serving tray? See the Serving Tray Care guide.

Show us your table: @charisstudiosofficial