End grain
Hard-maple end grain gives the knife a resilient working field while allowing the surface to be renewed many years from now.
The Founding Issue · In development
Field · Fire · Table
Issue 001
Issue 001 · Table
River
No. 1
An American-hardwood cutting board built to work every day—and remain on the counter when the work is done.
Concept 01Prototype specificationPhysical testing forthcoming
The object
004 / Founding collectionA working surface
with a signature.
River No. 1 begins with the familiar proportion of a serious butcher block, then gives it a form that belongs unmistakably to Cossatot.
Pale hard maple carries the daily cutting. Two black-walnut bands cross it from edge to edge, revealing only the central movement of an oversized SS mark.
The specification
Prototype targetsWood all the way
through.
These dimensions establish the first fabrication target. Final block geometry, adhesive, finish schedule, stability, and cleanability will be frozen only after a full-use prototype.
- Overall
- 20.00 × 15.00 × 2.25 in
- Working field
- North American hard maple
- River pattern
- American black walnut
- Construction
- Five-part edge-to-edge glue-up
- Signature
- Oversized SS fragment
- Corner detail
- Cossatot Cut · front right
- Base
- Recessed black-walnut shadow plinth
- Lift
- 0.375 in visual reveal
- Handling
- Undercut grips · both short ends
- Edges
- Gently eased for hand comfort
- Finish
- Food-contact-safe oil and wax
- Target mass
- 18–22 lb assembled
Material study · Production form may differThe design language
The river is
the structure.
The mark is deliberately larger than the board. Only its central movement crosses the surface, and each walnut band begins and ends at an outside edge. The five sections can be cut to mating curves and joined edge to edge—never routed into enclosed pockets.
A walnut shadow base gives the board a deliberate stance and a natural place for the hands. The clipped front-right corner repeats the Cossatot Cut used across the founding objects.
The standard
Four decisionsRecognizable from the room.
Honest under the knife.
The mark
Two continuous walnut bands carry a cropped fragment of the Cossatot SS mark from edge to edge—recognizable, structural, and free of enclosed inlay.
The stance
A recessed walnut base lifts the working mass into a quiet shadow line. Undercut grips make a substantial board easier to move.
Continuance
No stain, resin, or metal crosses the cutting face. The board can be cleaned, re-oiled, resurfaced, and kept in daily service.
Heirloom woodwork · Prototype release
Made to carry
the marks of use.
River No. 1 will be proven through repeated washing, drying, oiling, cutting, and resurfacing before the pattern and production method are frozen.