I'm trying to decide the same thing for my counters, I love the wood look, my husbands prefers to have granite, but i just dont like the look of them. Can't give you any advice but i'mm interested to see any posts on here. I'm leaning toward the oil finish, and i never even thought about the gas range situation.

Part of the countertops in our kitchen are 30 year old maple butcherblock. We abuse it terribly, use it for a cutting board, and occasionally sand it a little and oil it with food grade mineral oil. When we recently refinished the cherry cabinets and replaced the countertops, we left the butcherblock, as we like it and it looks great.

I have black walnut countertops finished with Waterlox and I'm very happy with them. Liquids just bead up on top and I love the warmth they bring to my kitchen. I didn't hesitate putting some next to my gas range.

In a nutshell, you would use an oil finish if you wanted to cut on them; Waterlox if you don't (it's food safe, but it would be damaged by the blade).

Waterlox comes in different levels of sheen (I went with the glossy). unlike a varnish finish, if you damage a spot, you can sand just that part down and reapply Waterlox - no need to refinish the entire surface (though I haven't had to test that so far).

Ok, since you are thinking chopping block style, I wanted to be sure I was on the same page before I suggested anything.

Which construction style did you mean? (this link shows all three). If you want to chop then Edge Grain is really best. End grain is liable to develop cracks/warping over time so even though it's a standard "chopping block" for most people I'd recommend the Edge Grain Construction(especially if the temperature varies annually where you live).

I used this site as a resource doing my own project research, so figured I'd pass it on.

Edge:

End:

Plank:

Be careful in assuming that wood is cheaper...when we priced Walnut for our bar top, it was $125/sq ft. We ended up getting our cabinet maker to find us milled pine and we used that instead. I don't know the exact cost, because it was included in our cabinet price, but I know we could not afford $125/sq ft.

Mine was $27.69 per square foot. It was for Black Walnut plank construction, but I did the oiling myself. You need to get value. not just plain old cheap. A 26"x36" from em was $180.

Any company that won't tell you how much it will cost (and tell you pretty quickly) is either going to be $$$$ cuz they are racking up custom charges in your quote or they really aren't a pro. When you deal with wood, its Super important to use a reputable source.

For example, a random guy who says he can make a top for you for cheap may get the wood from a source who doesn't monitor moisture content. Because moisture content is critical for wood countertops (and the good/long lasting/moisture balanced kind is more expensive) you Have to know your source.

Trust me. I had a BAD experience with a BAD source. I ended up getting a good deal on a quality one at long last - thank goodness - but by that time I had already spent mucho $.

Oh, did I mention after my first BAD purchase I tried to just glue the boards together myself. Also not a good idea. Wish i'd done it right the first time.