Last Christmas my grandfather, John Adams, made me and 18 other members of my extended family wooden bowls. It should be noted that my grandfather, 89, has been working with wood his entire life and is exceptionally talented, so when I say he made some bowls, what I mean is he made this:
He spent months gluing African Purple Heart together into blocks and then painstakingly sanding them into shape on the lathe in his shop. I think it’s safe to say that whatever part of me that enjoys spending hours upon hours in the kitchen working on one meal is a part of me that I inherited from my grandfather. He works with wood like I aspire to work with food. This bowl is, like everything he makes, stunning, and it was by far the best gift I received this last Christmas.
While I was home I got to talking to my grandfather about his upcoming projects, of which he normally has many. On this occasion his to-do list was rather short, and so I asked him if he would consider making me a cutting board. I’ve wanted a large wooden cutting board for years now, but it wasn’t until recently that I had even considered asking my grandfather to make me one. I cook for my family every time I visit California, and he has been incredibly supportive of my growing ambitions in the kitchen, so when I brought up the idea of making a cutting board he actually seemed excited about getting it started. Also, after months of sanding nearly twenty bowls, any new and different project was a welcome project. We talked for a while about what I wanted (size, shape, wood, etc) and he said he’d probably have it finished in a number of months.
Late this April he finished and, again, far exceeded my expectations.
I unwrapped this from a very carefully packed UPS box:
A simple cutting board turned into a work of art.
The wood is purple heart, and it was cut into identical blocks then glued so that it the knife’s edge cuts into the grains rather than across them, which keeps the blade from dulling as quickly. When finished he took the whole cutting board up to a shop in Fresno and had them use a special machine to precisely cut out the image of a knife with my initials carved into it, and he glued that in.
Then he added this beautiful border around the whole thing.
I seriously teared up a bit when I unwrapped this and again when I called my grandfather to thank him.
This is the best thing I own. Probably forever.
