All of those things will scratch and damage the finish. Cutting boards are mandatory. Ingesting a tiny bit of the finish from cutting on your counter won't kill you, but it's not exactly without risk enough to term safe.

I'm not an expert, but I do plan on using wood countertops in our new house. We're in rough in stage now. I plan to use hickory planks, for the finish I plan on one coat of dark tung oil and then multiple coats of mineral oil. I've done several sample boards with this and it seems great, but I've not lived with it yet. The samples I tried with the tung oil it acts just like mineral oil, I don't see why you couldn't cut on it, It's a penetrating oil. I plan on cutting with a butter knife on mine, old habits and all. :) However, if I cut meat or veggies I always get a cutting board, or a least a plate, cookies- I usually use a pastry mat.

I don't mind if they look a little loved and well used. And the best part is if they get too bad just lightly sand that spot and apply more oil. No problems. :)

Thanks for the straight answer, Hollysprings. Sweet-tea I hope to see photos of your counters when the job is done!

sweet-tea:

I've never seen planks used as countertops successfully. Wood has too much movement across the grain.

If you rip the Hickory into 1 1/2" strips, laminate them together, and sand to flush, you'll be fine.

Trebruchet- Thanks for the advice.

I've seen several plank countertops done that seem to be working well. (Breezygirl has planks, if I'm not mistaken and said she has had no problems.)

I like the look of the planks better than the strips, but if all else fails, that'll be plan b or I'll just settle for butcher block. :)

Trebuchet, just to clarify you don't think plank anything works for countertops? I too admire breezy's counters and was planning to do something similar on one 6ft stretch of counter. My thoughts were walnut plank but I also have the option of a walnut butcherblock which I think is 2 in strips of wood. Any thoughts/clarification would be appreciated! Sorry to hijack this thread!

If you are pretty good about keeping the humidity in your home constant, and the planks are under 6", you will have minimal issues. If you don't use AC in the summer, or a humidifier in winter, and go wider, you will have problems with warping and splitting.

If you are going to use the surface to prepare food, you need to have traditional end grain butcher block with mineral oil ONLY. No tung oil on anything that gets chopped on.

You have to make the decision about wanting function (end grain butcherblock) vs. decorative (edge grain, or faced planks). If you choose the former, then mineral oil is the only thing that should ever touch the counters. If the latter, then you are fine with tung oil. No mineral oil. Many people prefer something more protective than tung oil, and do a varnished finish. Tung oil finish has polymers in it, whereas pure tung oil does not, but has a lot of issues hardening. That's another decision to make. Do you prefer the greater protectiveness of a harder finish that's less repairable, or do you prefer the softer and less protective finish that's more easily field repaired?

Sorry but I had high quality maple butcher block counters for 20 years and they were disgusting with the mineral oil. I could never get them to stay clean.

Multiple coats of tung oil and sanding, or a finish like Waterlox is much more durable but still will need to be updated.

Pirula's cherry counters were hand sanded and tung oiled multiple times. They look great and she says they are holding up beautifully. She did them herself. I believe her finished kitchen is on the blog.

If you want the wood countertop to look pristine, I think you will have to use a cutting board, and whatever you wouldn't do on a wood dining table, try not to do it on the wood countertop either. No finish is bullet proof.

Pure tung oil is non-toxic and food-safe.

Cookie, your comparison to a wood dining table makes a lot of sense!

For those who like the butcherblock look, my neighbours got a butcherblock island counter that was actually for a workshop worktop. Same look/function as one designed for kitchen counters, but way cheaper. Now that it has been sanded and has multiple coats of John Boos Mystery Oil, it looks and feels amazing.

from johnboos.com:
"Boos Block Mystery Oil is a food-grade oil and thinner product than the cream; it more easily absorbed and penetrates more deeply into the grain of the wood to help protect and revitalize it. When using the oil, it is recommended you apply a generous amount and let it sit overnight. After checking the result the following morning, add more oil if there are dry spots or for any other necessary reason."