The Monarch Block

The Monarch Block is the Flagship of the Wood Welded line. The "Original Butcher Block" has been used by commercial meat cutters for nearly 100 years and today is also a popular item with home owners. These butcher blocks make impressive kitchen islands. Prior to the use of Wood Wooded Double Dovetailed blocks butchers cut meat on Sycamore rounds. These large sections of the tree trunk had the inherent problem of slitting. This of course created unsanitary conditions. It is for this reason the butcher block we know today is made of smaller strips of laminated maple. Our company helped develop the original Butcher Block.

The reason the Monarch Block was a staple of the commercial meat cutting business is because the block is sanitary, durable and very easy in the cutting edge of a knife. Additionally the shear mass of the block stabilized the heavy weights often placed upon them. There is no better surface cut on. End grain Butcher Block allows the sharp edge of the knife to cut down between the fibers of the wood. An edge grain board is also a very good cutting surface but because the knife cuts across the grain of the wood it does tend to dull the knife slightly more quickly. It should be noted that there are many materials used today for cutting surfaces but none have all the benefits of Northern Hard Maple. Other details of the Monarch Block include 4 turned legs, a 45 degree bevel on the top edge and a mineral oil finish. The wood used in manufacturing the block is Northern Hard Maple. The 12" Block also features decorative plugs.

What makes our Monarch block unique is the exclusive "Double Dovetail". No other company in the world has the capability to manufacture the block in this manner. The Double Dovetail is a special machining technique which dovetails each lamination so that they are basically locked together. Further more the dovetail itself is tapered so that when the blocks slide together they come to a point of a snug fit. The glue applied to this joint insures the block will last for generations. Often these blocks are passed down through a family or bought and sold on the antique market.

Recently, there have been Butcher Blocks manufactured by a variety of other companies. These blocks can be made from a variety of inferior woods and machining techniques. The Wood Welded companies insist on maintaining the quality that has become synonymous with the original Butcher Block . In order to insure yourself of the very highest quality look for the Wood Welded label.

The block comes in a variety of sizes which you will find listed below.