A cut above, indeed
Larch Wood end grain cutting boards set the standard
Wolfville was a natural choice for a company selling premium, end grain cutting boards, says Larch Wood Canada general manager Don Beamish.
“Wolfville has a lot of things other places don’t have,” Beamish says. “It has a walking main street, a university, the wineries, a lot of tourism – you name it. It has a lot to offer, so it’s a natural location for us.”
The Larch Wood store in Wolfville opened in October 2018 and is managed by Kim McDonald. One item it features is end grain cutting boards that have wood grains running vertically, providing superior durability, and a smooth, impact-resistant cutting action that is gentle on the knife edge.
“It’s self-healing,” Beamish explains. “When the knife makes contact it opens up the grain, and then it closes back up.”
Offered in a variety of designs and sizes, each board has natural colouring and its own distinctive grain patterns created by the growth rings. Canadian larch, also known locally as tamarack and juniper, grows in abundance in Cape Breton. Traditionally used in boatbuilding and decking, the wood is resilient, durable, and flexible. With proper care, a Larch Wood end grain cutting board will last for generations.
The Wolfville store also carries more than half a dozen lines of handmade Japanese knives, including Miyabi, Sugimori, Fujimoto, Fuiwara, Toijio, Tadafusa and Hayukui. Customers can test the knives in the store on the end grain counter top.
“Japanese knives are made from a harder steel, and so they hold their sharpness a lot longer,” Beamish says. “Once you use one you don’t want to go back.”
Larch Wood Canada started in 2003 when a small group of carpenters and woodworkers purchased a 14,000 sq. ft. building in Margaree, Cape Breton. Beamish joined the company as general manager a year later.
“At that time, we were focussed on flooring, which we still do as a sideline – maybe once a year or once every two years.”
Larch Wood began marketing its cutting boards in Halifax and quickly moved on to central Canada and the U.S. While attending their first trade show in Toronto, company officials sold products to the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, and the Gardiner Museum in Toronto, and years later both institutions are still Larch Wood customers.
In 2012, Larch Wood began offering custom made countertops, and this has become a growing part of its business. Today, the company’s custom products include countertops, tabletops, flooring and chopping blocks, as well as kitchen and bar stools.
Larch Wood products have been shipped across North America, and to the Bahamas, China, and Korea.
With a talented workforce of 22 craftspeople and skilled artisans, the Larch Wood team has more than 100 years of combined woodworking experience.
The shop, at 420 Main St. in Wolfville, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Tuesdays through Saturdays.
“We’re quite happy with the Wolfville store,” Beamish says. “Depending on the volume of tourism activity this summer we might move back to six or seven days a week.”
Like much of the home improvement sector, Larch Wood has seen a sharp uptick in demand during the pandemic, with people unable to travel and instead investing in their homes.
“People are redesigning their homes and buying kitchen implements,” Beamish says. “We’re booked longer in advance than we’ve ever been.”