Confessions of a Wood Sniffer

Some people can stroll past a piece of beautiful walnut without stopping. We wish them well. We don’t entirely understand them. 

For us, choosing wood is where a cutting board begins to become interesting. Long before the first glue-up, there are colors to notice, grain to consider, and questions about what a particular piece might become. Jaycee sees possibilities quietly. Kaycee’s possibilities tend to arrive with a name and a marketing plan. 

Our workshop is in vibrant Montclair, New Jersey. We methodically source our maple, cherry, and walnut from rural Pennsylvania and upstate New York. That puts us in conversation with a remarkable hardwood region—and gives us considerably more to talk about than anyone who casually asks about wood may have anticipated. 

You’ve been warned. 

Cherry has an excellent hometown story 

The Allegheny Plateau is a particularly strong place to begin a conversation about American black cherry. Across northwestern and north-central Pennsylvania, and into southwestern New York, the region has a documented reputation for large, high-quality cherry trees suitable for fine woodworking. 

There is something satisfying about a material with that regional identity. But cherry’s appeal continues at the bench: a fine texture, warm color, and the ability to produce a beautifully refined surface. 

Cherry also changes as it lives with you. Its color deepens with exposure, developing richer reddish-brown tones. The board you use today won’t necessarily look exactly the same several years from now. That gradual change is part of its charm. 

It is softer than hard maple, so dents and cutting marks can appear more readily. Choose it knowing that its warmth comes with a willingness to record a little kitchen history. 

Maple deserves a more specific introduction 

The word maple covers several species with different properties. For classic cutting-board lumber, hard maple—particularly sugar maple—is the useful distinction. Sugar maple belongs to the cool, moist northern hardwood forests that extend through northern Pennsylvania and much of upstate New York. 

Hard maple brings a fine texture, pale tones, and strong resistance to everyday wear. In an end-grain arrangement, that lighter color can make the geometry especially clear. Small variations between blocks still provide plenty to look at. 

It has the dependable presence of someone who turns up early, knows where the tools belong, and gets on with the job. Jaycee may recognize the type. 

Hardness is helpful, but it doesn’t cancel the need for careful drying, good construction, or care at home. Even the dependable one needs a little attention. 

Walnut knows how to make an entrance 

Black walnut brings rich brown color and striking natural variation. Put its end grain on display and individual blocks can create wonderful depth. It’s easy to understand why the species has such a long association with fine furniture. 

Good growing sites matter. Black walnut favors deep, fertile, moist but well-drained soils, making suitable valleys in Pennsylvania and New York sensible places to look for quality timber. That describes growing potential; it doesn’t award every walnut tree in a valley a gold medal. 

Walnut is softer than hard maple, too. Its appeal includes its appearance, workability, and usefulness together. Calling it premium doesn’t mean calling it the hardest. Kaycee appreciates a compelling sales story, but the wood gets the final say. 

The address is only the beginning 

Here’s a detail worth knowing: buying lumber in a region doesn’t automatically mean the tree grew there. Specific harvest origins need confirmation. A beautiful regional story should be accurate all the way back to the tree. 

And geography can’t do the craftsperson’s choosing. An individual piece still needs evaluation for soundness, drying, and suitability. Open cracks, decay, loose knots, or troublesome voids don’t become virtues because the lumber came from a famous forest. 

Natural color variation is another matter. That can be exactly what gives a board its character. We’re looking for wood that can become a beautiful, useful kitchen companion, with the care in its selection carried through the construction. 

Bring the character home 

Back in Montclair, those choices become the boards you meet: each with its own grain, coloring, and personality. You might fall for cherry’s warmth, maple’s brightness, or walnut’s depth. You’re allowed to choose the one you keep looking at. 

A good nose is handy around a workshop, particularly when someone has brought lunch. Choosing lumber takes a good eye, sound judgment, and the patience to let a promising piece become something worth keeping. 

Kaycee would also like credit for the title. Jaycee would like him to help carry the lumber.