The only one that is different is END grain.

It doesn't seems so based on what Craft Art sent to me...

Edge is generally considered to be along the smallest dimension. If you have a 2x2, then there is no "edge or face" difference unless you call it such. Of course, the grain orientation depends upon

I can see the "full length board" argument. Most of the rest is marketing hoo-haw, IMO. Do you want narrow boards or wide boards?

Here is a link that might be useful: Sawing from the log.

See the Wood Handbook liked below.

Figure 3-3 is very good.

How the wood was cut from the log determines figure style, not dimensions.

Quarter sawn, flat saw, rift saw, determine what the various faces look like.

Some specific effects (birds-eye maple, the straight grain of quarter sawn oak or fir, the 'cathedral grain' of flat sawn wood, the horrible grain of rotary cut veneer) depend directly on the sawing method.

The info from Craftart is mostly wrong.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wood Handbook, Chapter 3

Hmmmm- Very interesting. So basically, like bobsmyuncle said, the question is just how wide I want my boards to be?

And for cutting "plank" and "edge" don't really make a difference?

A woodworker told me he doesn't recommend walnut for cutting even though people do it b/c it's an open grain wood (unlike maple). And b/c of that, cleaning can be an issue or bacteria getting into the wood. Thoughts?

There is an ongoing discussion about cutting board safety.

The link below seems to have the best information.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cutting boards

My Cab Guy said Boos is wrong... and that my cutting board is not edge grain. It's plank.

"My Cab Guy said Boos is wrong... and that my cutting board is not edge grain. It's plank. "

No such thing.

Look at the wood handbook.

'Grain' (actually fiber direction) is tangential, radial, or end.

Some woods are relatively easy to tell, others not.

Your cutting board looks like a mixture of flat sawn and quarter sawn wood.

So is it edge or plank or none of the above?

"So is it edge or plank..."

There is NO SUCH THING.

Look at the Wood Handbook, figure 3-3.

In 2Littlefishies' diagram, it appears to me that the nomenclature for "edge grain" denotes an efficient method for laminating toward a thick butcherblock top, while "plank" style allows quicker glue-up of a thinner top.
Of course you can make a thin top either way (with wide or narrow rips) but for a 3" to 6" thick top you would have to go with an on-edge glue-up or be forced to use much costlier solid 4x4 or 5x5, etc. elements.
Casey

Funny how I just saw this post and it's almost 18 months old!

I need to respectfully disagree with previous posts regarding "marketing hoo haw" and the company I work for being "mostly wrong" in its literature. Both members neglected to recognize that the company producing the wood countertop already knows and understands the origin and type of lumber being produced (i.e., quarter sawn, face sawn, etc.) and has production employees with years of experience selecting lumber for wood countertops. We purchase truckload volumes of wood each month and (obviously) understand wood and control the type of wood purchased and used within a specific wood countertop. Since we are able to control (and then manage) this within our process, we can accurately and confidently state that the information presented in our literature regarding construction styles in a previous post above is 1) accurate and 2) honest. We are a company built on integrity and do not mislead our customers.

It is not my intention to be disrespectful or argumentative to any of the previous posts.

I understand that simplification can many times lead to disagreements and respectfully request that people give others the benefit of doubt vs. words of accusation. All of us are right...and all of us are wrong. It's what makes the ride so interesting. :)