# Hi-Soft cutting board feedback



## big D (Feb 12, 2019)

Need new cutting boards. Am use to wood, and not afraid of it either. Looking for small sizes 5x7 -9x12 and lightweight to make my wife happy. Have been checking into something a bit more knife friendly. End grain will be to thick. Not sure about edge grain, so was leaning towards some Hinoki's. 
Stumbled across hi soft boards. May be good thing for her for a number of reasons however I will be stuck using them also. 
Do these get cut up easily or are they pretty resilient?
When one is slicing/chopping does the knife overly sink in or bounce back at you?
Other than aesthetics, should I stick with wood and is there a problem with hinoki (other than warping) That I should be aware of?
Thanks 
D.


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## MontezumaBoy (Feb 12, 2019)

I've had hi-soft for the past few years now and really like them with j-knives. 

They are resilient, will sometime stain lightly but bleach clean, knives don't slice in deep and they "close up" nicely. Best to get feedback from the Pro's here though as they use them non-stop.

They are "cut-able" if you want to get a bigger one and cut it to size ... a couple links to what we talked about it not too long ago. I know that Korin sometimes has them on sale (I bought their largest size and it water-jet cut but I happen to have access ... having said that I know others discussed hand cutting them and it turned out to be no problem).

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/hi-soft-cutting-boards.36706/

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/hi-soft-vs-rubber-cutting-board.31728/

All the best ...


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## CoteRotie (Feb 12, 2019)

I really like my Hi-Soft. I wouldn't use anything else when slicing sashimi with my yanagiba. If I'm doing hard chopping or deboning and sectioning I'll likely use a wooden board. But the Hi-Soft is great for a lot of things. If it does get a little beat up you can easily sand it down to restore the surface. I would have no hesitation recommending them.


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## Paraffin (Feb 12, 2019)

In our home kitchen my wife and I use a combination of Hi-Soft rubber and Hinoki (cypress wood) boards. We use the Hi-Soft only for protein -- trimming steaks, skinning and fileting fish, cutting up chicken -- so the protein and veg boards don't cross-contaminate. I'm not super paranoid about that, but I do think it makes sense to have different boards for meat and veg. 

The Hi-Soft rubber material is a great surface for cutting protein; everything except maybe really hard chopping. I have a pair of cheap Chinese cleavers I use for things like whacking up minced pork, and I use an old beat-up thin maple board for that kind of abuse. For "normal" slicing of protein, Hi-Soft is a great surface. It's non-absorbent, very easy on the knives, easy to clean. The one we use is 19" x 10" x 3/4", I think it's this one:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N9CASRG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

It's a little heavy, but not too hard to carry over to the sink for washing. After a year and a half it has a few very minor cut marks, but nothing that affects cutting. I haven't bothered to try sanding them out. It has a few very light stain marks that don't wash out, and again I don't worry about it. It's a home kitchen, not a public-facing sushi bar.

For veg cutting we use several different sizes of Hinoki boards. Again, very easy on the knives compared to typical end-grain hardwood boards. A little prone to warping, but they're not very expensive so they're easy to replace.


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## Maccne0718 (Feb 12, 2019)

I have a hi-soft board for mostly proteins, and it feels really good when slicing. It also works well with light dicing with smaller vegetables for me.


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## MontezumaBoy (Feb 12, 2019)

I agree with the heavy chopping = wood board (but the hi-soft is very resilient) just makes more sense to use something a bit more indestructible ...


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## podzap (Feb 13, 2019)

We recently threw out all of our plastic cutting boards and replaced them with Arcos composite boards (made with cellulose fibre and resin). They are a bit expensive, but wonderful. you can find them on amazon as well.

* knife friendly
* nsf approved (cut resistant)
* dishwasher safe
* heat resistant (you can even put hot pans on top of them)

And most of all, they are really thin so they don't take up much storage space. You can get them in brown or black, with juice groove or without.


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## big D (Feb 13, 2019)

Thanks for the replies everyone. I appreciate your time. The arcos look interesting but not wild about the hole. Perhaps in a larger board.
Going to order the little Hi-Softs.


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## podzap (Feb 13, 2019)

big D said:


> The arcos look interesting but not wild about the hole. Perhaps in a larger board.



Yeah, I also thought they looked a bit strange at first but I have actually come to love the hole. You can grab several boards at the same time and carry them with one finger, or hold the board with your thumb like a painter's pallette.

Anyway, have fun!


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## big D (Feb 14, 2019)

podzap said:


> Yeah, I also thought they looked a bit strange at first but I have actually come to love the hole. You can grab several boards at the same time and carry them with one finger, or hold the board with your thumb like a painter's pallette.
> 
> Anyway, have fun!



Yes holes and handles. This is nicer to me than the finger slot type close to the end of the board. With the hole up on top you still retain some semblance of cutting real estate. Not as important on the size I am seeing, but no good on the tiny ones I am seeking at the moment.
Thanks again
D.


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## parbaked (Feb 14, 2019)

big D said:


> The arcos look interesting but not wild about the hole. Perhaps in a larger board.



If you like the Arcos, consider the boards from Epicurean. They have smaller holes and many choices.
This is what I use for proteins mostly because I can sterilize them in the dishwasher.
https://www.epicureancs.com/product-category/cutting-boards/

These boards are made from a very high quality wood composite called Richlite...good stuff.
https://richlite.com


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## CoteRotie (Feb 14, 2019)

parbaked said:


> If you like the Arcos, consider the boards from Epicurean.



I have several of the Epicurean boards, and I'll use them in addition to wood boards for heavy duty chopping in place of the Hi-Soft. They are dishwasher safe, but I would avoid the black color ones as after a while (lots of dishwasher cycles) I've noticed some transfer of the black color to food.


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## big D (Feb 14, 2019)

Thank you parbaked and CoteRotie


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## WildBoar (Feb 14, 2019)

I gladly gifted out Epicurean boards shortly after switching over to j-knives. The surface is horrible, and the knife edges take a beating on them. We switched to wood cutting boards, with a couple of poly boards for raw chicken and fish. Epicurean is the work of the Devil, and aimed squarely at the Sur La Table crowd (which I was at one point, years ago).


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## HRC_64 (Feb 14, 2019)

rubber>hinoki>maple>good plastic>poly>hard resin


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## big D (Feb 14, 2019)

Thank you Wild Boar and HRC_64 for taking thee time to post your thoughts.
D.


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## CoteRotie (Feb 14, 2019)

WildBoar said:


> I gladly gifted out Epicurean boards shortly after switching over to j-knives. The surface is horrible, and the knife edges take a beating on them. We switched to wood cutting boards, with a couple of poly boards for raw chicken and fish. Epicurean is the work of the Devil, and aimed squarely at the Sur La Table crowd (which I was at one point, years ago).



I don't know if they're all that bad, but I don't typically use them with Jknives. If I have some chopping to do with a Wusthof cleaver or a workhorse beater I don't mind the Epicureans.


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## daveb (Feb 15, 2019)

On a relative scale the Epicurean are much easier than the poly crap that are found in so many households. I've gotten away from them for the most part but they are light, readily transportable, dishwasher safe, and not hard on the eyes. And who else makes a board that's perfectly sized for slicing oranges for the G&T?


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## WildBoar (Feb 15, 2019)

daveb said:


> And who else makes a board that's perfectly sized for slicing oranges for the G&T?


We have a small round wood board for limes


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## btbyrd (Feb 15, 2019)

Overall, Hi Softs are the way to go if you can't do end grain. Hinoki are nice too for some things, but they're fussy. You have to both keep them wet (to prevent staining) and keep them from getting too wet (because they'll warp if you let the edges soak up too much water). My Hinoki only comes out on special occasions because I don't like to use it on items that stain (carrots) or leave heavy smells (onions). I use those all the time, so it's synthetics for me most of the time.

If ordering from Korin, I recommend home cooks get the "small" one (which costs $48) and the smaller, but-not-yet-mini $25 one. These can be used side by side virtually seamlessly to create a larger cutting surface. Here's that setup with my two largest gyutos.






I also suggest you pick up Korin's cutting board shaver/resurfacer thing for $5 when you order. Hi-Softs are pretty good about being self-healing and not gouging too much, but after enough time you will want to sand it down a bit. The only bad thing is that Hi Softs can't go in a dishwasher... but I don't have one of those anyway, so...

Just for fun, here's a shot of my Kodai hinoki with my Anryu 240. I was pepping peppers (no carrots or onions at the time) so I broke out the cypress.






You can see the surface is slightly damp. I keep a spray bottle of water near by so I can mist the board if it dries out. I like it, but I don't consider it an all-purpose board. I don't cut protein on it because I can't really wash/soak it as aggressively as I can other materials. And I'm precious, so I don't want it to stain. But when the stars align... 

Maybe I'm overthinking things.

Anyway, the Epicurean boards are okay. I have a stack of 3 that I used for years... one for protein, one for smelly things (garlic and onions) and one for non-smelly plants. They're harder on your edge than hinoki, endgrain, and most synthetic polymers. It's not like they're glass cutting boards or anything, but they're not super edge friendly (though not terrible). They're cheap and light and thin and have a lot of good things going for them.


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## Obsidiank (Feb 16, 2019)

+1 on the Korin high soft. Love them.


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## 5698k (Feb 16, 2019)

Recently got a high soft, I’m very impressed.


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## PC315 (Feb 16, 2019)

Is the Hi-soft basically the same as sani-tuff?


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## HRC_64 (Feb 16, 2019)

PC315 said:


> Is the Hi-soft basically the same as sani-tuff?



They are in the same bracket of construction, rubber vs plastic
but the various brands are slightly different in execution/price/etc.

https://www.globalindustrial.com/p/...ting-board-12-x-18-x-three-quarter-inch-thick
https://www.mtckitchen.com/asahi-rubber-cutting-board-0-75-thick/
https://www.mtckitchen.com/hasegawa-wood-core-soft-cutting-board/
https://www.korin.com/TK-203-01-100


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## parbaked (Feb 16, 2019)

WildBoar said:


> We switched to wood cutting boards, with a couple of poly boards for raw chicken and fish. Epicurean is the work of the Devil, and aimed squarely at the Sur La Table crowd (which I was at one point, years ago).



For raw protein, I much prefer Epicureans to cheap poly boards which are aimed squarely ate the Walmart crowd (which I never was). I also don't put oranges in my G&T so what do I know...


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## big D (Feb 16, 2019)

daveb - thanks for the additional information on the boards.
Obsidiank- thanks for chiming in.
5698k - Thank you also.
btbyrd- Thank you for the in depth review along with the photos. Really nice cutlery there an great handle on the anryu. Very nice to take the time to post all of that.

*Order is in for H-Soft Boards. Thanks to all.*
D.

Probably will not be checking back into this thread. 
Thanks for the help.


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## doomtop (Feb 19, 2019)

Why the hate for polypropylene boards? Aren't they more knife friendly than the composites, with all of the same benefits?


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## HRC_64 (Feb 19, 2019)

doomtop said:


> Why the hate for polypropylene boards? Aren't they more knife friendly than the composites, with all of the same benefits?



IMHO they don't have great board feel and they gouge over time quite a bit

1- japanese edges which can get stuck in the gouges and cause problems
2-for sanitation so they need shaving/maintenance
3- overall not very kind for edge retention


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## doomtop (Feb 19, 2019)

HRC_64 said:


> IMHO they don't have great board feel and they gouge over time quite a bit
> 
> 1- japanese edges which can get stuck in the gouges and cause problems
> 2-for sanitation so they need shaving/maintenance
> 3- overall not very kind for edge retention



These are advantages of rubber over plastic. Sorry if I wasn't more clear, but I was specifically wondering the advantage of composite boards vs plastic.


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## HRC_64 (Feb 19, 2019)

doomtop said:


> These are advantages of rubber over plastic. Sorry if I wasn't more clear, but I was specifically wondering the advantage of composite boards vs plastic.



Composite boards are epoxy saturated paper or similar substrates, and so you care cutting on hardened-resin which is worse than cutting on poly boards. Upside to them is their form factors which are often thin and light and washable (in dishwasher ?).

For travel and what limited use as protein boards or whatever that doesn't see alot of blade/edge contact,
I think there is nothing inherently wrong with them...for main boards personally would not seek them out but YMMV.


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## WildBoar (Feb 19, 2019)

doomtop said:


> Why the hate for polypropylene boards? Aren't they more knife friendly than the composites, with all of the same benefits?


I have a couple that we use only for raw poultry and fish. The is very limited knife contact with the board, so abuse of knife edge is not much of an issue. In my experience the poly boards provide better 'grip' on the proteins than the Epicurean boards, and provide a better feel when the knife may make contact with the board surface.


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## doomtop (Feb 19, 2019)

HRC_64 said:


> Composite boards are epoxy saturated paper or similar substrates, and so you care cutting on hardened-resin which is worse than cutting on poly boards. Upside to them is their form factors which are often thin and light and washable (in dishwasher ?).
> 
> For travel and what limited use as protein boards or whatever that doesn't see alot of blade/edge contact,
> I think there is nothing inherently wrong with them...for main boards personally would not seek them out but YMMV.



This is my experience and understanding as well. I don't prefer composite boards. I prefer wood, either maple end grain or hinoki, or else high density poly boards.

I was curious as some users in the thread seemed to be reporting that they abandoned plastic in preference of composite. I was wondering the motivation.


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## doomtop (Feb 19, 2019)

WildBoar said:


> I have a couple that we use only for raw poultry and fish. The is very limited knife contact with the board, so abuse of knife edge is not much of an issue. In my experience the poly boards provide better 'grip' on the proteins than the Epicurean boards, and provide a better feel when the knife may make contact with the board surface.



Yeah, I believe poly boards are more friendly to the knife than the composites, which is why I was surprised to see some preferences for composite over the plastics in a knife forum


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## podzap (Feb 19, 2019)

doomtop said:


> I was curious as some users in the thread seemed to be reporting that they abandoned plastic in preference of composite. I was wondering the motivation.



That was me so I might as well elaborate.

Plastic boards have a thousand non-recoverable slashes in them after two months of use, slashes which are impossible to clean due to flapped over edges, etc. The microparticles that find their way into those slashes lay out a perfect constellation of subsurface abrasive grit to keep your knife blades happy (not).

Composite boards don't score nearly so badly, almost not even noticeable. They are also not that hard on edges. Mostly we cut raw chicken and chili peppers on them. My wife doesn't want chilis to be cut on our wooden board (may or may not be an issue).


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## doomtop (Feb 19, 2019)

podzap said:


> Composite boards don't score nearly so badly, almost not even noticeable. They are also not that hard on edges.



Thanks for elaborating. I appreciate your experience. I would say though, your statement does seem kind of contradictory. The fact they don't score easily would seem indicative that they are in fact hard on edges...


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## HRC_64 (Feb 20, 2019)

One benefit that makes cut-resistant boards "knife friendly" (seemingly contradictory)
not unprecedented to hear of people getting a knife stuck in board an losing a tip or causing a chip
so a hard board that doesn't have susceptibility to wounding its surface may be perceived as user friendly


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## podzap (Feb 20, 2019)

doomtop said:


> Thanks for elaborating. I appreciate your experience. I would say though, your statement does seem kind of contradictory. The fact they don't score easily would seem indicative that they are in fact hard on edges...



Things are not always as they appear on the surface...


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## mauichef (Nov 2, 2020)

What do you Hi-Soft owners use to sand it down? I bought a sanding block from Korin but it did not last. I am assuming regular sandpaper would do the trick maybe using an orbital sheet sander .......with care?


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## big D (Nov 3, 2020)

mauichef said:


> What do you Hi-Soft owners use to sand it down? I bought a sanding block from Korin but it did not last. I am assuming regular sandpaper would do the trick maybe using an orbital sheet sander .......with care?


HI Ray
I have one of those blocks but haven't used it yet. I do not see why sandpaper wouldn't work. If you like, tomorrow (Wed) I can give some sandpaper I have laying around and can compare it to the block if you like. Doubt I could get to it tonight.
D.


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## mauichef (Nov 3, 2020)

Hi D.
Thanks mate.
I actually gave it a try yesterday and it worked out OK. Used a sheet orbital sander. Now just need to bleach it so the scratches go away. It might take some effort but these boards save me hours in not having to sharpen knives. It is amazing.


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## big D (Nov 3, 2020)

Yes I like them, but do find them very grabby when slicing. Could very well be my own ineptness, or perhaps the knife was to flat, but when trying to cube flank steak in 1/4 pieces for tacos it was a struggle. Considering a cherry or walnut board to go with them.....the Ashi or perhaps the brown Hasagawa board may work also, check into them all when cash flow becomes better.
D.


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## mauichef (Nov 3, 2020)

No question they take a different technique. I like the look of the Hasagawa board too.


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## Luftmensch (Nov 7, 2020)

big D said:


> the Ashi or perhaps the brown Hasagawa board





mauichef said:


> I like the look of the Hasagawa board too.



I have an Asahi and a Hasagawa rubber board. The rubber is too grippy for my taste. It is excellent for slicing meat & fish... but our diet is 90% vegetables. I prefer a harder board for that sort of prep - so I use the Asahi most of the time. It is thick(ish) for an artificial material cutting board. On the one hand the heft is reassuring for stability; on the other, it feels a little cumbersome for its dimensions.

I like the wooden core of the Hasagawa. It does make the board surprisingly ridged and light. I am very tempted to try their harder Polyethylene boards. It looks like a winning combination of weight, rigidity and tactile feedback. Without having tried one, I would cautiously recommend the 'hard' Hasagawa over the Asahi.


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