An edge-grain board shows you the long side of the wood fibres. An end-grain board
shows you their cut ends, like a bundle of straws stood upright. That difference is the
whole price gap.
What it does to your knife
Cutting into end grain pushes the fibre ends apart and lets them close behind the blade.
Cutting across edge grain slices the fibres and, over time, rolls your edge. If you own one
knife you care about, the board is the cheapest way to protect it.
What it does to the board
End grain self-heals. Marks close up. The trade-off is that it drinks oil, so it needs
feeding more often, and it is heavier and more expensive to make because it is assembled
from many small blocks rather than a few long boards.
When edge grain is the right answer
For a small everyday board that lives by the sink and gets used for a lemon and a
shallot, edge grain is lighter, cheaper and completely adequate. Save the end grain for the
board you carve on.