28 Steps

Why are Fifth & Cherry® cutting boards so special? Why will they last forever?

It’s the loving hands that craft them.

The 28 major steps to create your board take 4 to 5 days to complete. The hundreds of intermediary steps in between offer you unparalleled performance and durability.

This video outlines our process and celebrates the people who create these works of art.

Ours is not a mechanical, sterile production like most who try to replicate what we do. You’ll see and feel the love in our work the moment you hold one of our boards in your hands.

It’s this love and attention to detail that makes F&C boards the best cutting surface for the premium knives you invested in.

How much of our special cherry wood is required? It takes about four board feet of our lumber to create the F&C 14 and almost eight board feet to create the F&C 18 cutting board.

Here are the 28 steps it takes to create your one of a kind cutting board.

1. Receive our certified responsibly sourced black cherry lumber
2. Plane the lumber
3. Trim the lumber to the proper length
4. Square the edges of each board
5. Cut the lumber into strips in order to arrange
6. Arrange in preparation of gluing
7. Set the clamps in specific increments to ensure proper gluing
8. Glue the arrangement & clamp. This is a long-grain board at this point (bad for knives).
9. Scrape board when the glue is properly cured
10. Rough grit sand to for proper board thickness
11. Cut the board into strips
12. Arrange and stagger the strips for strength and to expose the end-grain (best cutting surface for knives)
13. Simultaneously glue, pin (added strength) and clamp the end-grain strips. Allow curing.
14. Rough grit sand the end-grain board
15. Repeat rough grit sand with slightly finer grit
16. Hand sand with 100 grit sandpaper
17. Engrave and serialize each board
18. Rout edges into the board
19. Hand sand with 120 grit sandpaper
20. Hand sand with 150 grit sandpaper
21. Hand sand with 180 grit sandpaper
22. Apply first linseed oil coating. Allow curing.
23. Apply second linseed oil coating. Allow curing.
24. Light grit finish sand
25. Rub the board down
26. Apply the first coat of food-safe finish. Allow curing.
27. Rub the board down
28. Apply the second coat of food-safe finish. Allow curing.

There are no shortcuts when creating the world’s finest cutting boards. If you’re ever in Reading, PA, let me know. I’d love to show you how our boards are made and introduce you to the people who make them. The obsessive detail in each board we create will astound and inspire you.