Considering the price, this is an excellent carving board — boards from specialty sites can cost four or five times as much. I have a large cutting board that I use for prep (chopping veggies, meat, etc.), and I bought this board to supplement it. I intend to use it only for carving cooked meats and poultry, as the groove will capture the delicious juices and prevent them from running all over my counter. (Unlike this board, my other board does not have a juice groove, nor would I want a groove on a board used mainly for chopping veggies, etc.). The quality of the Boos board is very high. It's made of solid kiln-dried edge grain rock maple, an ideal wood for carving boards. (End grain would be a better choice for a board that will be used for chopping as it is easier on knife edges, but for slicing and carving it doesn't make much difference.) The Boos board is also quite substantial and very well constructed, in my opinion, and I have to question claims that it is prone to splitting. I suspect that many of those complaints are due to damage in shipping or to improper care of the board (e.g., putting it in the dishwasher or letting it soak in the sink). Wash it quickly after use with a mild detergent, rinse it well, dry it thoroughly, oil it from time to time with food-grade mineral oil, and it should last for years.
