# Marble & my kitchen knives **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468 "2008-08-18T20:11:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/1 "2008-08-18T20:11:04Z")
I always wondered about marble & granite countertops and what they must do the edges of my favorite cooking knives. Reckoned the answer would be, “Plastic or wood cutting board.” But then I saw a marble cutting board and now my whole sense of reality is on the brink of collapse. So what gives? Marble & Granite don’t wreck the edge of a good knife? ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/2 "2008-08-18T20:17:28Z")
I can answer this definitively. I sell marble and stone countertops. Using knives on any stone top will ruin the knives. Using knives on a marble top will also cut the top, leaving lines which cannot be buffed out. Use wood for chicken, poly for everything else. We will not make “cutting boards”, trivets, or anything else like that from scraps left over. The only thing we will make is a lazy susan that we can attach a heavy duty felt bottom to. We still make the customer sign a waiver holding us not liable when the piece damages their tops or they drop it on the floor damaging it (or their foot!) ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/3 "2008-08-18T20:17:43Z")
From this web site [Cutting Boards](http://www.condells.com/cutting.boards/selecting.htm) the answer would seem to be that marble / granite does do a number on knives. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/4 "2008-08-18T20:25:58Z")
Most of the marble cutting boards I’ve seen are really for serving cheese, etc. at parties, rather than for actual food prep. I also have a marble board for rolling out pastry. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/5 "2008-08-18T20:42:49Z")
What **MikeG** said. My knives only touch wood or Poly. Anything else means war! My SIL visits on occasion and I have one knife set aside for her to use. I spent $2 on it and she can cut on anything she pleases. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/6 "2008-08-18T20:48:32Z")
Why wood for chicken? Why not poly? Much more hygienic, I’d think, since I can just toss it in the dishwasher after cutting up the meat. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/7 "2008-08-18T20:49:20Z")
Thanks for the answers folks! Nice to know I won’t have to check into a loony bin over this. [QUOTE=GaryM] My SIL visits on occasion and I have one knife set aside for her to use. I spent $2 on it and she can cut on anything she pleases. [/QUOTE] Preach it! Nothing better than spending 30 minutes rehoning the set only to find one of the kids using it to hack the top off a milk jug. Or dig in the yard. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/8 "2008-08-18T20:50:45Z")
Don’t do it **Inigo** - put the cutting **board** back on the counter top… 😃 This is why cutting boards were invented… slight highjack- I wonder when the invention of a cutting board happened? I would guess simultaniously with the stone countertops in castles. I doubt they inlaid wood into the stone…I always see large tables and large cuttingboard tables in the castles I have been in. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/9 "2008-08-18T20:52:44Z")
Even if you didn’t damage the knife by using it on the marble, your wrist would feel the pain for many days to come. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/10 "2008-08-18T21:01:13Z")
[QUOTE=Belrix] Why wood for chicken? Why not poly? Much more hygienic, I’d think, since I can just toss it in the dishwasher after cutting up the meat. [/QUOTE] Here’s a [Staff Report](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcuttingbd.html) on the topic. I will admit that I use my wood cutting board for more than just chicken but I love it too much to use it for only one thing, plus I clean it thoroughly after cutting up the birdies. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/11 "2008-08-18T21:29:23Z")
[QUOTE=MikeG] Here’s a [Staff Report](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcuttingbd.html) on the topic. I will admit that I use my wood cutting board for more than just chicken but I love it too much to use it for only one thing, plus I clean it thoroughly after cutting up the birdies. [/QUOTE] Hmm. I have three plastic cutting boards and routinely cycle them through the dishwasher. I think I’m safe. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/12 "2008-08-18T21:56:37Z")
Just because they sell cutting boards made of something doesn’t mean you can actually cut things on it. Witness all the glass cutting boards out there - a good friend has some, and I sit there wincing as I listen to the sound of her destroying her knives if I’m over while she’s using them. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/13 "2008-08-18T23:48:05Z")
[QUOTE=Inigo Montoya] But then I saw a marble cutting board and now my whole sense of reality is on the brink of collapse. So what gives? Marble & Granite don’t wreck the edge of a good knife? [/QUOTE] Glass is probably even worse on knives, but some people would rather go through knives than have a germ factory that needs to be soaked in bleach or near boiled before it’s safe to use again. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/14 "2008-08-19T16:39:08Z")
[QUOTE=groman] Glass is probably even worse on knives, but some people would rather go through knives than have a germ factory that needs to be soaked in bleach or near boiled before it’s safe to use again. [/QUOTE] Kinda makes you wonder how people managed for all those hundreds of years before the invention of glass/microban/whateverthecurrentfadis chopping boards. And how come restaurants get away with using plastic chopping boards. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/15 "2008-08-19T18:10:48Z")
[QUOTE=slaphead] Kinda makes you wonder how people managed for all those hundreds of years before the invention of glass/microban/whateverthecurrentfadis chopping boards. And how come restaurants get away with using plastic chopping boards. :dubious: [/QUOTE] Restaurants tend to use at least some bleach when cleaning everything and I would think stone work surfaces predate wooden work surfaces. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/16 "2008-08-19T18:16:48Z")
Since the OP has basically been answered (don’t do it!) I thought I’d chime in and say I use a single cutting board for all my cutting. Simplistic procedures make sure that no raw meats touch it until everything else has already been prepared… Cross contamination is bad. After all is said and done, I just use [this handy product](http://www.lysol.com/products/kitchen-cleaners/food-surface-sanitizer/) to clean it off. I soak the whole thing in bleach every several uses. I’ve yet to get any form of food poisoning but hey, if I ever do, I’ll consider it both a learning experience and a great opportunity for my immune system to bulk up. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marble-my-kitchen-knives/460468/17 "2008-08-19T18:39:24Z")
[QUOTE=BrandonR] Since the OP has basically been answered (don’t do it!) I thought I’d chime in and say I use a single cutting board for all my cutting. Simplistic procedures make sure that no raw meats touch it until everything else has already been prepared… Cross contamination is bad. After all is said and done, I just use [this handy product](http://www.lysol.com/products/kitchen-cleaners/food-surface-sanitizer/) to clean it off. I soak the whole thing in bleach every several uses. I’ve yet to get any form of food poisoning but hey, if I ever do, I’ll consider it both a learning experience and a great opportunity for my immune system to bulk up. 🙂 [/QUOTE] I’ll have to look for that product. We have several color coded poly boards, the ones with the rubber corners so they don’t slide around. The red one is for raw meat, including chicken. The green one is for veggies only. The brown one is for cooked meats, cheeses and such. Also have a blue one for fish, but it’s not used much. The boards used for any meat, raw or cooked, get a bleach treatment after being washed in hot soapy water. No problems so far! 😃