After reading the reviews this is the cutting block I decided to go with good or bad this was going to be it. I wanted a nice sized board but man I wasn't prepared for the size of this thing I knew what the measurements were but unless you measure this out on cardboard and place it on your counter the amazon photo will fool ya this thing is what they call it SUPER SLAB.

Ordered on the 5th arrived this morning 7th kudos Amazon. Wow! 30lbs I'am disabled so this board wont be moving around my kitchen I've seen some reviews say the wood had cracks or showed signs of splitting and I don't doubt their claims upon removing from box and shrinkwrap I got out a magnifying glass to get a really good upclose look I could find nothing not even a scratch this board was sanded so finely it kinda has a satin like look just beautiful I havent received my walnut oil yet so one can only imagine how much better this is going to look after a week of oiling.

Nothing bad about this board at all but i havent oiled or used it yet but you can prep a few things on this board at the same time I will say this I've seen some boards that cost twice what this one does are smaller and IMO dont look as nice.

My Sister was here when I took it out of the box first words out of her mouth were "I want one" lol I will update my review after I have oiled this beast

UPDATE: Out of the box you can just start oiling this board however I wanted a really smooth surface so I sanded it using a superfine 400 grit then a 600 grit 1000 grit 1500 grit and finished it with 2000 grit using 5 sheets for each grit two for the top two for the bottom and one sheet for the sides took two days.

I decided to use a roasted walnut oil I like the color it gives the board and it hardens the wood over time. I bought a 16.9fl oz can trust me you will need two cans this board just soaks it up some people have stated using alot of oil at one time covering it and wiping the excess off after X amount of time with a small rag or towel if you do it this way your going to be wasting alot of this oil (roasted walnut oil $10+) do it by hand using small amounts of oil until you have covered the whole board let sit over night or 6 hours minimum before wiping down again. If you leave large amounts of oil on the surface the oil will be absorbed faster on some areas than others and the results will be very uneven

4/23/16 I just received my new 20"x20"x3" Catskill Craftsman board two days ago, and I have to say I was quite surprised at the obvious build quality from the moment I opened the box. The board is SOLID...mine weighs almost 40lbs. All of the dimensions are spot on as well. The color was very attractive, but not what I wanted (more on that later...I was fully aware I was buying a natural mapleish toned board). The board was nicely smooth (and more importantly, FLAT), and could easily be used as it was after seasoning. For myself, if that had been my intent I still would have given the thing a good sanding from 400 grit to 1000 grit, but that's a matter of my personal preference, and was certainly not necessary to have a beautiful, useful board.

That said, the reason I bought this board was because my old Tree & Co 18x14 MODE board split...AGAIN (it was actually delivered split, and I fixed it...but now it's split again in the same place). I normally season my boards with mineral oil on a daily basis once or twice a day for a few weeks before using, then on a weekly basis with my own board butter formula (2 parts choji oil, one part beeswax, one part coconut oil). So with that said, I was looking to do something different with this board, and since I wanted a darker, more red colored board anyhow (I loved the color of my MODE board)...I went a somewhat controversial direction and used tung oil (WATCO brand salad bowl finish was my base) thinned with equal parts low odor mineral spirits to season it. To this I added Minwax Wood Stain (Red Mahogony 225) until the color was what I wanted. Keep in mind...the idea here is NOT to put a layer of varnish between the wood and the food. It is to put a layer of varnish between each strand of wood and all of the other strands to act as a barrier for moisture that's trying to penetrate the board. The wood surface is still 100% in contact with the food, and so cuts won't ruin any 'seal' the varnish might have made in another type of application, and will still self heal to a large degree. This means it won't trap moisture or food, and can't 'flake' off. This kind of finish is supposed to last YEARS on an end grain board before possibly needing to be reapplied.

My method was simple:
- Sand to 180 grit.
- Mix varnish and mineral spirits in equal parts. Add in stain to suit, remembering that a little goes a long way.
- Using nitrile gloves, apply stain/varnish mixture to the top of the board with a soft cotton cloth, until it is no longer absorbing easily (about 4-5 minutes). Wipe off excess.
- Let cure 8hrs or so.
- Reapply mixture for three coats. After the third coat has cured for 8hrs, begin applying the first of two coats using JUST the clear varnish thinned with mineral spirits. The idea is to use the clear fluid to 'push' the color deeper into the board, providing depth and a protective coat between the pigment and your food surface. SOME people claim the stain is dangerous...I personally think there's things that are worse for you in processed food, once the stain and varnish has cured (the varnish is absolutely food safe, and the rep I talked to at Minwax told me the stain 'technically' is as well...but would not officially go on record of course), and that in this small of a dose, it's not going to be relevant anyhow. Regardless, the layer of clear varnish and the top coat of board butter should be more than enough protection against the infinitesimal bit of stain that might in some way make it to the food.
- After the second coat of clear, wipe THOROUGHLY, and let cure until you can no longer smell ANY trace of the mineral spirits, and then add a couple days on top of that to be safe.
- Sand to your desired finish. I like ultra smooth boards (this helps repel water also), and sand quickly from 400 grit, through 600, 800, and 1000 grits. I then wet the board lightly to pull up whiskers, and sand with the 1000 until the board will no longer whisker. From there you can use as is, or coat with the board conditioner of your choice. As I said I make my own board butter, and intend to use it to provide that 'healthy board' luster, to bring out the color and depth in the grain, and as an added layer of protection against bacteria and moisture.

The pictures below go in order, and since I can't caption them directly, I'll add descriptions here:

1, 2 - The board as delivered, still in the packaging.
3, 4, 5 - With my old split Tree & Co. 18x14 board, as well as a 265mm gyuto (10.5" edge length chef's knife) for scale.. This thing is monstrous.
6 - Materials for sealing.
7, 8, 9 - First coats of the varnish mixture. You can see the color has only changed a tiny bit. You can also see the varnish seeping through the back after just a minute or two of application. After this coat I added a bit more stain to the mixture as I wanted more color.
10, 11 - Second application of varnish/stain mixture.
12 - Third and final application of color mixture. You can see the board is still wet as it's being applied. I also wanted to mention that my process for the back was very simple. Before putting the board up to cure after each coat, I would simply used whatever was left on the cloth to wipe down the back. It was constantly weeping wicked through stain from the front anyhow, as well as rolling down from the sides...so mostly it was just a matter of smoothing out what was there.
13 - After the final two coats of only the clear had been applied, wiped off, and dried to the touch.
14 - In the kitchen under the warm flood lights (my shop uses 5k lighting lol). Keep in mind that the board butter has not been applied yet, so this color will darken a bit as well as gain some depth and 'glow' of its own from the oils and waxes. Pictured for scale are a 150mm (6" edge) petty knife, a 120mm (4.75" edge) petty knife, and a 100mm (4" edge) paring knife. You can see the color is MUCH nicer in regards to matching my kitchen counters and cabinets.

I will be updating this review as time goes on in order to keep you guys informed on the board's durability (or lack of!), as well as the durability of the finish itself. As it sits though, I highly recommend this board!

**UPDATED

So here I am on my second one and AGAIN it's just splitting. This makes two of them since Dec. I oiled it, kept it clean... now I am outside the return time and out 100 + splurge on a cutting board.

It's a SHAME because this is very nice to cut on, looks great, and overall is exactly what I wanted.

LOVE THIS BOARD!!!! I've been using this for 6 months now. I spent the first two days rubbing it down with mineral oil, then walnut oil. I applied probably 6 times with walnut out. It's VERY heavy, I think shipping weight was 88 pounds, and I believe it. It has been extremely durable and easy to clean. I keep some white vinegar in a spray bottle to clean raw meat off of the board, and use a damp cloth for general cleaning. It makes a statement in your kitchen too, people see it and instantly know you're a bad mofo. Nobody that sees you cut stuff on this board will dare question your culinary chops. Doesn't matter if all you're cutting is the top off the mac n cheese box. They will bow down to your mad cutting board buying prowess.