"Jim Willemin" wrote in message
. 97.142...
I just finished sanding a little knife block to hold a Chinese cleaver and
a small chef's knife. I used some red oak that was lying around the shop,
gluing it all together with Titebond II. Now: I think I recall that
vegetable oil is the right finish for food-contact woodwork; my questions
start with this: Wouldn't a vegetable oil finish eventually get rancid?
SWMBO has a hellishly sensitive sniffer, and I'm afraid that if the oil in
the wood starts to get a little manky two of my favorite knives will be
either banished altogether or sentenced to a life lying naked in the
silverware drawer. What *is* the right finish? We have quite a few
different oils in the pantry: peanut, olive, canola, corn, and can get
stuff like safflower, soy, sunflower and more that don't leap to mind
right
now. Of course, I can also get the more traditional woodworking oil
finishes. I am blessed with choices and cursed with ignorance - help!

Thanks


I use walnut oil for my cherry wood kitchen countertops.
It is semi-hardening with no noticeable odor.