Northern Prairie Woodworks
Virden, Manitoba · since 2024
The last cutting board you'll buy.
End-grain hardwood, 1½″ and up, built to the size and wood you pick — by one person, in a one-person shop in Virden, Manitoba. It self-heals under a knife, keeps your edges sharp, and I'll refinish it for life. A factory board is stamped out by the hundreds. Yours is milled, glued, planed and finished once, for you.
Handmade in ManitobaOne pair of hands, every board
Free Canadian shippingOn orders over $300 · tracked via Canada Post
Built to be passed downLifetime craftsmanship guarantee
Nothing cut until you approveEvery custom detail confirmed with you first
Available now
On the shelf right now — ships tomorrow
Every one of these is finished and boxed. When it sells, it's gone; I don't batch and I don't reprint a pattern. If you want one, this is the one.
Order a custom board
Your size, your wood, your inscription
Pick length, width, thickness and up to five species. The price updates as you go. From $245. I confirm every detail with you before I cut anything.
Commission a piece
The piece you keep picturing
Memento boxes, shadow boxes, furniture, game-room pieces, odd sizes and inlays. A conversation first, then a firm price in writing.
Find a gift
Something they'll still be using in twenty years
Cribbage boards, whiskey smokers, flight boards and boards by budget. Handwritten note on request, never a price in the box.
Notes from people who use them
People who bought one
★★★★★“I ordered a butcher block for my friend, as a housewarming gift. She absolutely loves it, and shared the photo with me. It's very, very beautiful!! Thank you!!”
Izumi — Custom butcher block, a housewarming gift
★★★★★“I received this as a gift. WOW! The attention to detail shows vs other charcuterie boards. The inlay is perfect, as is the finished edge of the black walnut. This has instantly become a treasured gift.”
Dave — Walnut Boreal Relief, Dual Bull's Head
★★★★★“Super cool! Arrived in 3 days. My friends loved the presentation. I'm surprised wood can look like this without being altered. Beautiful.”
Ryan — Tequila Shot Flight Board
★★★★★“The cutting board is absolutely beautiful and of great quality, and I believe it is an excellent price. I WILL be purchasing from this gentleman again.”
Jimmy — Hearth Cabin Cutting Board
★★★★★“Beautifully made, amazing craftsmanship. If you're looking for an heirloom chess board, I highly recommend Jonathan — this one is beautifully and solidly built.”
Mike — Figured Purpleheart & Canarywood Chess Board
The maker behind the work
I'm Jonathan, and I'm the whole shop.
I hand-pick the lumber, square it, cut it, glue it up, flatten it, sand it, finish it and pack it, here in Virden, Manitoba. There's no sales desk to hand you off to and no production floor behind me. When you email about your board, you're emailing the person building it.
That's the practical difference between a board from here and a personalised board from a bigger operation: you get to change your mind before I cut, and years from now you can still reach the person who built it. Same person, both times.
Why end grain?
The standard a working kitchen asks for
End grain is cut from the top of the grain — vertical fibres that absorb a blade instead of resisting it. Knives stay sharp longer. The board self-heals. At 1½ inches thick and up, it's what the industry calls a butcher block — a glue-up of hardwood built to last decades of daily use.
The Northern Prairie Promise
Every piece built in this shop is meant to be passed down. If a board ever fails under normal use, I'll repair or replace it. Heirloom means heirloom.
Not seeing the piece you're picturing?
Memento boxes, shadow boxes, a board built around a shape, a custom-sized Compass block — most of what leaves this shop started as someone reaching out. Tell me what you have in mind and I'll come back with ideas and a price. No payment, no account.
Tell me what you're picturing →