3 weeks in: My nice kitchen knife was getting dull after just a couple slices on a glass cutting board, but it stays sharp all night with this wooden one. Very happy with purchase so far. As other reviews have mentioned, you'll want to take a soft-grit sandpaper to the board to smooth out the rough surfaces. Curing: The product description says this comes pre-cured. If that's true, I'd hate to see what it was like before they cured it! The board arrived bone-dry, like it'd been sitting in the desert sun for a century. It was very lightweight and hollow sounding. I bought a third-party mineral oil and began treatment in earnest. Boos instructions say "don't over-oil your board" but every other article I can find online says there's no such thing. So I soaked both sides of the board in mineral oil and left it for several hours. Then I did it again, and again, and again. Over the course of two days I was able to soak the board four or five times before it stopped soaking up oil. I then wiped off the excess and sealed the board with Boos wax. I wanted to use a less expensive, thicker, third-party brand of wax, but my order kept not arriving/getting cancelled, so I broke down and used Boos' brand. I left the board overnight again, and have been using it since. Maintenance: After use, I wash the board with soap & water, and a stiff brush. Then I dry with a towel and let air-dry overnight. I've had the board for three weeks now, and have just done my first "monthly" maintenance. I dumped a bunch of salt on the board and rubbed it in with half a lemon. Then I used a stiff brush to rub the salt and lemon juice in further, then washed with soap and water. Once dry, I will add Boos wax to seal. Next time I'll probably have to do another round of mineral oil first, but the board is still good to go for now. Durability: So far, so good. This is hand-washed in cool water only. I will update my review if I see the cracking that others have posted about. It may be a product defect.. OTOH the boards just may need far more curing than Boos' instructions indicate. Edit: After several months, the cutting board starting smelling really bad. I ALWAYS wash it with hot water and soap, and a stiff brush. I was also regularly (once every 1-2 months) scrubbing it with salt and lemon, and re-applying the oil and wax. However, the cutting board continued to get more and more rancid smelling. But how to clean it? I was afraid of putting it in boiling water, as leaving WOOD in water for a long time is not a great idea. I also wasn't sure how I could keep a big pan of water boiling for long enough to really clean the cutting board. My baking sheets are too shallow, and not meant for stovetop. But then I remembered that STEAM is hotter than boiling water! So I put a really big pot of water on the stove to boil, and then placed the cutting board on top to steam. NOTE!! You need to leave a good inch or more open.. never close a heated system, and never heat a closed system! I placed the cutting board off-center so there was an inch-wide gap along one side of the pot. Then I kept coming back every 5 minutes to grab the board and wipe off the liquid and foam that kept bubbling out. I also kept moving the board around so each quadrant was getting time over the steam. It took a lot of attention over the course of about an hour (I kept having to add more water back into the pot)... but finally the board was back to smelling like WOOD! So I let it dry out for two days, and have just oiled & waxed it again. So if your board is starting to stink & you're not sure what to do, try steam! (But be careful!!)
