John Boos Block RA-Board Large Reversible Wood Cutting Board, 30"x23"x2.25", Maple

Listen, this is the Rolls Royce of butcher blocks. What you see with 0 or 1 star reviews for this butcher block are the same type of people who leave 0 star reviews on Le Creuset pans and Shun/ Miyabi Knives. These are high end kitchen items that you need to know how to use and take care of. This is an excellent Block that will last a lifetime and provide a nice cushion for your knives to extend their lives as well. I got a 24x18x2.5 which is literally massive and weighs approx 30lbs but provides for a ton of room for meats and veggies. It is also so large that you dont have to worry about putting towels down before using- this bad boy is not moving lol. Unless you are strong and can handle maneuvering this I recommend you get a smaller size board.Now... if you are buying this block and worried about it coming apart or cracking like other people who have reviewed it follow the below instructions and I can all but guarantee that it will last forever.The Boos Block comes extremely dry. I am not sure entirely why that is but it just seems to be the way that they come. For the first week you really shouldn't even use it, just condition it for future use. Also, you NEED to buy the combo bottle of Boos Mystery Oil and Board Cream, if you don't do not complain when the board cracks. Now first and foremost, wash the board off with warm soapy water and let it dry fully by wiping it down then resting it on its side with the grain vertical. Once it is dry, apply the ENTIRE, yes ENTIRE included package of Boos Mystery Oil to the whole outside of the board. The end grain sides (shortest sides of the block unless yours is square) are the most thirsty and you need to really saturate these sides with the oil, they can take a LOT- at least mine did. This is what people who have had theirs crack are missing. When I did mine, it got like 5 shades dark from absorbing all the oil. After rubbing all sides with a substantial amount of oil, stand it upright and let the oil fully soak in overnight. Next day, wipe off any excess oil that has not been absorbed. Repeat this process at least 4-5 days in a row, ideally 7 and now it is ready for the next step. After the board has fully absorbed the oil after 5-7 days, apply a layer of Board Cream and let that sit overnight to fully absorb, wipe off the excess. Now it is ready to use but you can repeat the last step again to be extra safe. Continue applying Mystery Oil at least once a week for the first month. After that every 2-4 weeks should suffice but just make sure the block is never drying out.

Love quality!! American Made!! Size is Great!!!

The board is beautiful, fits my countertop like it was made for it, and is a pleasure to use. I am no expert but I think the problems people have had with it splitting is that they have not used enough oil. The board I got must have been stored and transported in a dry, hot environment. When I got it, it was dry as a bone. I used, literally, 30+ ounces of mystery oil over a 10 day period when I first got my board. It was so dry that I brushed it on with a basting brush - when the oil was mostly absorbed I brushed on more. The first few days i could brush on a coat every 20 minutes. Each morning I flipped it and oiled the other side hoping that the oil being absorbed would eventually meet in the middle. I brushed on probably, 75-100 coatings (I wish I had kept count). I made sure to keep the ends as wet with oil as the surface of the board. Over the last 3 months I have rubbed another 10-15 ounces of oil in (it’s hard to tell when you use a rag and some gets rubbed off the next morning after soaking in overnight).Again, I’m no expert, but if I understand correctly the oil is filling the empty cellular structure in the natural wood slabs/pieces that are glued together to make the board. If these cells were not filled with oil they would act like a sponge and absorb the varying humidity in the kitchen, swelling and shrinking, weakening both the wood and the glued joints. So, with a 2” board there is a lot of wood to fill and if you only rub an ounce or two into the surface the oil could never reach the core of the board which will then dry out/seek to absorb kitchen humidity, shift and crack. There’s a picture in a review from last year and you can see the surface of the board is a deeper color, but the core looks very pale/dry.I went through two 16 ounce bottles of mystery oil and then switched to Howard’s Butcher Block conditioner because you can buy it by the gallon. 3 months in and my board seems fine, but I think that wouldn’t be so in this summer humidity if I hadn’t filled it with oil.So, that’s the story of my board. I read all the reviews here and spent hours online reading more than I ever wanted to know about butcher blocks before I bought mine... hence this ridiculously long review... hope it helps!

Love the Boos quality and the large size. Just be aware that this board is VERY thick. I wish I would have gotten the regular thickness model. It is a little too tall off the counter for comfortable use.

The media could not be loaded.  the surface of the cutting board is very rough, I have to use sandpaper to make it smooth. it supposes not happened on this high price product. Also found a long crack across the board that is unbelievable!

Very impressed by the quality of this cutting board. Going to oil it asap, and keep up on overall maintenance.EDIT: When the board came it was quite dry, I had to do a heavier oil job, that only lasted a week and the board shown signs of drying so I had to do another big oil job on the board, it's now not absorbing oil as quickly. Make sure you oil it a bunch when you get the board, and possibly several times with only a week or so apart. The board now is keeping great color and doesn't look dried out.

Quick delivery and proper size but arrived wth a chip and black stains that I tried to clean off without complete success. I would return but much too heavy for me to repack and carry to depot. This does not look good on Boos.

Its a large heavy board so you won't be moving it around much, properly conditioned mine with oil and then the wax and its holding up great.

Arrived cracked, want a replacement but worried about having to pay shipping cost to shipp the defective one. Disappointed