Face grain, or plain grain, is usually the wide face of a milled board, and exhibits multiple layers of grain on top of each other, often in U, V or even O shapes. Edge grain usually will be the long, thin edge of a milled piece of lumber, and always exhibits usually long and parallel grain patterns.

What is face grain vs end grain?

End grain is simply the end of the board. Face grain cutting boards are made by gluing the edges of narrow boards of wood together. Edge grain cutting boards, on the other hand, are made by gluing the faces of strips of wood so that the edge grain side is now exposed as the cutting surface of the cutting board.

Can you mix edge and face grain?

When the edge grain is up it is an edge grain cutting board, and when the face grain is up it is a face grain cutting board. … As an example, in most maple wood cutting boards, the strips of wood can be glued together randomly, resulting in a mixture of both grains (a.k.a. mixed grain).