Solid walnut or veneer? Butcherblock or how is it made? What di you intend to use the top as, just a counter top or a work top? I would probably use Waterlox unless you are looking

If you will use it as an actual work top, then nothing but mineral oil is suitable as a knife work finish.

I can’t seem to attach photos today, but in our last home my hubby built all of the kitchen cabinets and some bathroom vanities. The island was topped with solid walnut and had an under-mounted prep sink in it, and of course, the bathroom vanities had vessel sinks on top of walnut counters. We used Waterlox on all of the walnut and had great success with it. It still required more attention than stone counters, and in our current home I chose not to do walnut on such high traffic areas, but the Waterlox (when applied as directed) worked superbly at keeping the wood water proofed.

Thanks for all the info. I decided after reading so many testimonials to use the Waterlox , 3 coats of natural followed by 2 coats of satin.

My small walnut butcher block work table is my main prep area, we have been known to cut directly on it when I use it as a charcuterie board. It is ten years old and I only use butcher block oil when it gets dry. It looks as good as new! I opted to only oil it so it would be food safe.

It looks beautiful!

Ah! Looks like I can get photos to work now. Here’s a photo of my previous kitchen. I just used the original waterlox, and did not apply the satin finish at the end. It starts off very shiny that way, but the shine did tone down a lot with a little time. The odor is horrendous while it’s drying, so if you’re applying it on site you’ll need to be able to open up your house and have cross breezes and it helps to have fans going to circulate the air so it’ll cure properly. Once it’s dry, the odor is gone and the finish is completely food safe. However, it’s like other oils where someone with a tree nut allergy could have an issue with the finish. However, it is not the kind of finish where you’d want to use a knife to cut directly on the surface.

Here are some photos of the walnut vanity my hubby also made, and of our powder room sink area in our previous home. Like the kitchen island, these were also finished with Waterlox original.

Ours has a Rubio finish. So far no problems but sometimes I think it looks a little dry/thirsty. It is very matte and very easy to care for. Just soap and water.