Well, if you do laminate on the perimeter, I vote for another laminate or a hardwood on the island. If you go soapstone on the perimeter, I could also see wood, marble, or a marble-looking granite on the island. As much as I believe that soapstone is a family-friendly surface I could be thrilled to have, IF you're not doing soapstone everywhere, I think I'd keep it on the perimeter, since it can be chipped or carved into (but I think the different types of soapstone have different levels of hardness). I'm mentioning that, because I'm thinking of the kids writing on it. Also that it may become less than perfectly smooth with time, and that will affect how it is to write on, too. JMO

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.

There is no reason to apply pure tung oil over top of varnish. (In addition to little reason to apply pure tung oil all by itself, IMHO. It is more expensive, more time consuming, more difficult to apply successfully, and if you don't do it right, you have to strip and start over. Nor does it look any different than cheaper, more available, easier to use boiled linseed oil.) (Curing) Oil finishes are generally always soft, offer little moisture protection, and need renewal. You already have a hard film finish with the wipe-on varnish. This is great for an eating area finish. Nearly all finishes are toxic in liquid state and non-toxic in cured state. Just do not use the Formbied surface for cutting (if that's one of the etcs). Cutting will create cuts in the film finish, looking unsightly and allowing moisture to penetrate and will accelerate its demise by flaking. For anyone finding this thread, if you want a good, working butcher block finish, the finish of choice is either no finish or mineral oil. Mineral oil is inert so it will not go rancid like non-curing vegetable oils. If you want, you can shave in 1 part paraffin to 6 parts mineral oil, heat in a double boiler until the paraffin melts, slather it on, let it cool, and scrape off the excess with a plastic scraper. Repeat either treatment as needed, maybe a couple of times a year or less. You can buy "butcher block oil," but this is usually just high priced mineral oil. You can find mineral oil at a drug store or drug department of grocery or discount store, where it's sold as a laxative / stool softener. (Thus it's "non-toxic") Paraffin is also easily found in the canning supply section of stores. Here is a link that might be useful: food safe finishes

I have teak countertops in my kitchen. Done out of 8/4 planks, edge glued. I used biscuits and West System epoxy. I wiped the plank edges down with acetone just prior to assembly. The run of countertop as a whole is 30" deep by roughly 18' long, it's two separate pieces that overlap on the ends, one about 12' long, the other about 6' long. The overlap is because one countertop is a couple inches lower than the other one. I have an under mount kitchen sink, so the end grain of the planks is exposed to water at the sink. Zero damage. Been in for almost 20 years. No warping, lifting, curling, no separation at all on the glue lines. Finished with mineral oil. The oil holds up well, I try to renew the oil once or maybe twice a year, though I have gone several years without renewing it. I have another teak end-grain butcher block cutting surface as a kitchen island end cap. Roughly 4' square with one corner clipped on a 45, and 5" or so thick. The individual blocks are about 3-1/2" by 2" and assembled in a running bond pattern. Same assembly; I wiped the blocks down with acetone, then epoxied. No biscuits on that one. We do cut on it some, not a lot, but the cutting surface has held up perfectly. On the side or edge of the block, there's one break on a glue line, where the grain orientation of the two blocks don't remotely match up due to one of the blocks having wild running grain. The break isn't noticeable to the eye, but you can feel it when you run your fingertip along the edge. There's maybe a 1/32" lippage at that joint. Just enough to catch a fingernail on if you run it along the side of the slab. I've never bothered to sand it flush. Great material for a countertop. Been used and abused in a heavily used kitchen, and they still look pretty darn bueno.