The Boardsmith

The Boardsmith is a cutting board maker founded in 2005 by woodworker John Loftis, who started out in High Point, North Carolina. Production is now in Frisco, Texas, where a team of 8 full-time employees works in a 7,500-square-foot shop. The store sells in US dollars from theboardsmith.com and takes custom orders.

What The Boardsmith sells

• End-grain cutting boards and butcher blocks in maple, walnut and cherry, including a walnut-and-maple 'Brick' pattern board
• An Art Boards collection
• Board Butter and cutting board oil for looking after wooden boards
• Custom orders and gift cards

According to the about page, every board uses FAS-grade hard maple, black cherry or black walnut from sawmills that follow FSC sustainable forestry practices. Boards are glued with Titebond III, which the company describes as food-safe and waterproof, then oiled with food-safe mineral oil and buffed by hand with beeswax. The homepage quotes coverage from Wirecutter, Serious Eats, Cook's Illustrated and Bon Appétit.

Delivery and returns

Orders over $200 ship free within the continental US. Because each board is built to order, the shipping page warns that a butcher block can take up to 3 weeks to make and ship. The store also ships internationally, and customers abroad are responsible for any taxes, duties or tariffs.

Returns need authorization first, and approved items must reach the workshop within 14 days of that approval. A board sent back for any reason other than a defect must be unused and in its original packaging; it carries a 20% restocking fee and the buyer pays shipping. Personalized, custom and reduced-price pieces can't be returned. Cracks, splits or warping reported within 60 days of receipt are repaired or replaced at the company's expense, with shipping covered both ways.