Firstly it’s difficult to source food grade recycled plastic, secondly the issue of microplastics entering our food is, rightly, becoming more of an issue than ever, then on top of all that plastic boards will reduce the sharpness of a knife as quick as you can say “slice”. So something that looks great but ends up expensive, microplastic-y and leaves you with a blunt knife felt like not the way to go.
We played around with other materials and landed squarely with the old favourite…wood! Sourced correctly it has an environmentally light touch, and with the correct care and usage wooden boards last a lifetime and help your knife last a lifetime too. Behind every sharp kitchen knife is (or really should be!) a decent chopping board, so we wanted the Allday one to be a great one and if we could manage it, handmade.
After turning over many rocks I eventually came across Justin Webb of Re.Honed. In short Justin is a craftsman of exceptional skill and knowledge and I knew straight away we’d found someone capable of producing objects that you’d treasure your whole life. There is almost something sacral about the incredible dedication to his craft and the love of his tools and his materials that isn’t something you come across much today. Someone who’s capable of making something out of wood that will stop you in your tracks and want to find out more.
Working out of his workshop in Woolwich, where he’s lived and worked his whole life, Justin started out working with wood initially through sharpening the tools of his trade. Having been a product photographer he searched for a change in direction and mentor Stephen from Creative Nature HQ (who use woodland crafts to connect people with nature) suggested tool sharpening. Out of this naturally grew a skill for woodworking and he’s not looked back since.
With Stephen and the Creative Nature team Justin works to bring woodworking to people and within that Justin works in bringing it to neuro-divergent people in and around the Woolwich area. He said that he’s not met a woodworker yet who isn’t neuro-divergent. Yet 85% of people in the UK with Autism are unemployed, and it is people like Stephen and Justin who are empowering some of those people living with Autism or ADHD to a new perspective. Some of the people most affected, who struggle with reading or other tasks, can find in woodworking an outlet for the potential bottled up inside by a system built to marginalise those who don’t fit the mould. I’m hoping this doesn’t sound too worthy or righteous, as really with Justin I think there’s someone who is a great guy and incredibly talented at woodworking and we’re blessed to have his boards. But for the rest of it he has created something more and in his world full of wood shavings, planes and beeswax he has quietly created a great potential for doing good as well.
He’s made for Allday a limited run of FSC certified Maple wood boards, hand planed and guttered, each one takes 4 hours per board just to plane into shape and days more to oil, flute and finish.
