Cutting board

[jcuk]

5 hours ago, Northmount said:

I've seen bits of metal embedded in MDF.  Fine for stropping since you're not cutting into it, really smooth.

I seem remember you mentioned this in another thread, but to be honest i have never seen this and i have been using it for almost 30 years now also its what we used when did my training. But as daft as it sounds i suppose there maybe a varying quality of MDF from different suppliers. 

 

[toxo]

Been fortunate that my main leather shop has a big clicker press and over the years I've collected various sizes and thicknesses of off cuts that they use on that. Don't know what it's called but it's tough. In the thicker sizes I can use it almost like an anvil. Perfect for stuff like belt ends etc and unlike  the thinner stuff there's absolutely no distortion.  I use the self healing mats for  intricate stuff like patterns. 

[Northmount]

5 hours ago, jcuk said:

I seem remember you mentioned this in another thread, but to be honest i have never seen this and i have been using it for almost 30 years now also its what we used when did my training. But as daft as it sounds i suppose there maybe a varying quality of MDF from different suppliers. 

 

Good memory!

I'm sure you are right about different suppliers.

When cutting MDF with a circular saw, I've seen sparks fly.  I would suppose that it may be from whatever grinders they are using, or some scrap that gets picked up from truck boxes, loader blades, or whatever during handling.

[fredk]

A builders merchants I used to buy timber from carried 4 different grades of MDF. Each grade was for where the builder wanted to use it. The most expensive (really really expensive) was a hard exterior weather-proof and the cheapest was a softer interior type used to line walls inside 

[kgg]

On 1/21/2025 at 12:07 PM, gw21 said:

I'm a beginner and currently using a wooden cutting board made of oak for cutting leather with a head knife.

Like @TomEI use HDPE to cover my work table and have some smaller cut of pieces for smaller projects. Doesn't seem to dull the knife blades as quickly, the main downside is it is very smooth and can have a tendency to slide around if not weighted down, screwed or clamped in place. However the main reason I use HDPE is to protect my butcher block table tops as blades are cheap to replace, the 1 1/2" thick butcher block isn't.

kgg

[SUP]

I should think that if you don't want to use any plastics of synthetic materials, wood is the way to go. 

[Beehive]

In the knife community. Test after test shows that poly cutting boards have the least effect on edge retention. The problem with wood is you have to cut with the grain. Any cuts across the grain and it'll dull the edge faster then cutting with the grain. 

When you have nothing but expensive kitchen knives. You get the poly board. 

[dikman]

Using wood for a leatherwork cutting board can be a bit problematic compared to using it for a kitchen cutting board. In the kitchen grain in the wood doesn't matter but cutting shapes from leather can be tricky if the knife tries to follow the grain. A very dense hardwood should reduce that possibility but dense hardwoods are probably the worst for damaging a blade edge (just ask a woodturner who turns hardwoods!!). Conversely a softer wood will be gentler on the edge but the blade will tend to dig in and try to follow any grain.

So you may not like it but synthetic materials generally make the best cutting surfaces, but if you must use wood I guess MDF is probably the best bet (although MDF is made using synthetic resins so can't be called a "natural" material).

[dikman]

Rather than start a new thread I've tacked this on here. My daughter has a gym and some time ago when she moved locations she had a heap of rubber mats, the ones they use on the floor of gyms, left over so I grabbed a couple (I didn't have a use for them but....). Anyhow I've been using them to stand on in my shed when it suddenly occurred to me maybe they would be good as a punching mat? They're very dense rubber, so very heavy, and 15mm thick (3/4" for any heathens out there). Tried punching some leather, nope, just lots of rebound! Hmmm, a cutting mat maybe? Yep, that seems to work, has some "give" so hopefully won't blunt knives too easily and the leather doesn't slip on it. I guess time will tell.

[jrdunn]

6 hours ago, dikman said:

Rather than start a new thread I've tacked this on here. My daughter has a gym and some time ago when she moved locations she had a heap of rubber mats, the ones they use on the floor of gyms, left over so I grabbed a couple (I didn't have a use for them but....). Anyhow I've been using them to stand on in my shed when it suddenly occurred to me maybe they would be good as a punching mat? They're very dense rubber, so very heavy, and 15mm thick (3/4" for any heathens out there). Tried punching some leather, nope, just lots of rebound! Hmmm, a cutting mat maybe? Yep, that seems to work, has some "give" so hopefully won't blunt knives too easily and the leather doesn't slip on it. I guess time will tell.

This is one "heathen" that appreciates the gesture.  Thanks