Hayate Yoshihiro Hi-soft High Performance Professional Grade Cutting Board Japanese Sashimi Chef's Tool Made in Japan (X-Large)

It is quite heavy and sturdy, but the surface of the board is not as well as compentive brand. After a couple of using with sharp knife, the groov of blade was left on it. The boad surface is not as smooth as other brand, you could feel the fine particel on it by using your finger tip rubbing it. Anyway, it is still one nice cutting board.

So this is a plastic cutting board and is designed to be more gentle on your knives. I use Japanese knives and have noticed they need less steeling and sharpening since I’ve started using the board. BUT it’s a plastic board. My knives are very, very sharp and I wonder just how much plastic residue ends up in the dishes I prepare. If you’re concerned about this, there’s always Hinoki boards which are awesome, but will gradually stain and develop odors.

I had high expectations for this cutting board. After some research, I was trying to decide between this and a Hasegawa. Due to shipping constraints, I ended up with the Yoshihiro. The board is soft and it definitely will increase the life of your knives' edges. However, it does not have the surface memory properties I was expecting. With a few weeks of light use, I have several cut marks, scratches, and small chips. Eventually the board will become worn, ugly, and a vessel for bacteria, just like any other wood cutting board. I debate if I should have opted for a cheaper wood board that I would just dispose of sooner. UPDATE: The company contacted me after I left a 2 stars review. After discussing with their representative, I believe my opinion was based off of lack of knowledge and experience. This board is most ideal for people with very high end knives. Cutting technique is also an important factor, since the board's surface is more suceptible to damage due to its softness. With that understood, this is a quality product that definetly ads a finess to my cooking experience. My wife and I will need to work on our technique to see if we can minimize damage.

I've used my Yoshihiro cutting board for over a month now without any issues whatsoever. It's an unbelievable cutting board for people whom have Japanese knives. I've seen multiple bad reviews on this board where people say this board will stain, leave marks, way to soft and may warp. It's true to a point, all cutting boards will stain and leave marks and it's meant to be soft for a reason. The difference between these rubber cutting boards and others is, you can buy what I like to call a magic eraser. It's basically a sanding block for these types of boards and is made by Hasigawa. So if your board gets stained and or you have deep cutting marks, that "Magic Eraser" will get rid of all of that. I own a variety of Japanese knives ranging in price and have had no issues using this board to cut everything from vegetables to meat. Like with everything else we own now a days, this board needs maintenance. Maintain it and it will last you for years. I believe these baords are fairly priced compared to other boards that range in sizes. But if you honestly own a 1K dollar Japanese knives then this will fit you perfectly.

The best, I am very pleased