Symmetry in cutting boards – where order meets the natural variation of wood
A cutting board can be a simple everyday object. But when the wood is selected, turned and assembled with an eye for grain, colour and proportion, the surface also becomes a composition.
Here, symmetry plays an important role.
Not necessarily as perfect mirroring, but as a tool for creating balance between the individual pieces of wood. That applies to both end-grain and long-grain boards, even though the symmetry shows itself in different ways.
Symmetry is more than a mirror image
Symmetry is often associated with two identical halves around a central axis. But in art, design and geometry there are several forms.
One can work with mirror symmetry, repetition, rotational symmetry and a freer visual balance, among others.
For centuries, symmetry has been used in art, architecture, textiles, mosaics and ornament to create order, rhythm and coherence.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for example, describes how geometric forms in Islamic art are combined and repeated into complex patterns, while MoMA works with reflection, rotation and repetition as fundamental principles of composition.
In woodwork, however, symmetry is never entirely mathematical.
Wood is a natural material. Two pieces can be cut close to each other and still vary in colour, grain and structure.
That is why visual balance is often more important than perfect symmetry.
End grain – symmetry as pattern
On an end-grain board, the end face of the wood faces the work surface. The surface is thereby divided into many smaller fields, which makes it possible to work actively with repetition and pattern.
At Rune-Jakobsen Design this is clearly visible on WOW and Chefs Board, among others.
On the WOW end-grain board, the pieces of wood are sorted and assembled so that colour and grain form a balanced whole.
A striking piece can, for instance, be answered by a related piece on the opposite side. Dark and light areas can be distributed, and grain can be turned so that it visually moves towards or away from the centre of the board.
The result is not a perfect mirror image.
It is rather a kind of organic symmetry, where the individual parts vary but the whole reads as coherent.
The same principle is found on Chefs Board, where the end-grain pattern is combined with the board's other details.
The repetition is in a way reminiscent of mosaics or textiles: from a distance you see an overall pattern. Up close, the individual fields and their differences become clear.
Long grain – symmetry in lines and grain
On a long-grain board, the fibres of the wood run along the surface of the board.
That gives a more continuous visual expression than the many small fields of end grain, so symmetry often arises through long lines rather than repeated blocks.
Two staves can, for instance, be placed on either side of a central axis so that their grain works together.
A dark area in walnut can be balanced by another dark section further towards the opposite side. Grain can be turned so that it opens outwards or moves in towards the centre.
The board still does not need to be perfectly mirrored.
What matters is that the eye perceives balance.
Read more about the constructions in our article on end grain and long grain.
When asymmetry creates balance
Nor is symmetry necessarily the goal in itself.
In art and design, an asymmetric composition can be just as well balanced as a symmetric one. The difference is simply that the visual weight of the elements is distributed differently.
The same applies to a cutting board.
A striking piece of wood, a shift in colour or a detail placed off-centre can give character to an otherwise calm composition.
One example is our Grounded cutting board, where the metal inlays are deliberately placed asymmetrically.
Asymmetry is therefore not necessarily the opposite of balance.
It can be the element that makes the composition interesting.
Two boards can share the same design – but never the same pattern
When we make a cutting board, we can decide dimensions, proportions, construction and details.
We can also work deliberately with symmetry and balance.
But we cannot decide exactly how the wood has grown.
That is why two boards can be built to precisely the same design and still end up with different grain, colour and character.
For us, that variation is not something to be hidden.
It is part of the material – and part of the craft.
Crafted – Not produced.
Sources and further reading
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA): symmetry, balance and composition
- Smarthistory: Balance, Symmetry, and Emphasis
- Rune-Jakobsen Design: About our cutting boards
Read also
- End grain vs. long grain – which cutting board should you choose?
- Oak vs. walnut – which wood is best for cutting boards?
- Cutting boards from our workshop – made to order
