To Epoxy, or Not to Epoxy?

I personally think using epoxy for a cutting board is a bad idea, unless the board is intended for display purposes only. Epoxy is plastic. Plastic scratches, dents and (IMO) they overall look horrible if used to actually cut things. Even the dull-ish untensils of a charcuterie board will damage epoxy inlays. Because of this, I have moved into creating inlays using wood and not epoxy (example photo: Inlay carve times? - #20 by Stefano)

Regarding the discussion of finishes, my 1.75 cents would be that for cutting or charcuterie boards, I only use mineral oil and/or beeswax. The issue with other oils or finishes is they are usually organic based and can spoil or go rancid. Also, any premade “conditioners”, “butcher block oil”, or “board butters” are nothing more than mineral oil heated to a point (crock pot) where beeswax will melt and combine. The mineral oil soaks into the wood while the beeswax provides a protective/hard coating on top. This is incredibly easy to make (and/or sell) yourself.

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