Wood: the advantages and the upkeep
Wood is the traditional choice and for good reason. Hardwoods like maple and walnut are self-healing at the microscopic level — the wood fibres close around knife cuts rather than retaining them as permanent grooves. Those grooves on plastic boards are where bacteria accumulate and where cleaning becomes less effective over time. Wood is also significantly kinder to knife edges than plastic or glass. The trade-off is maintenance: a wooden board needs to be oiled with food-grade mineral oil every month or two, and it cannot go in the dishwasher. Water warps wood boards if they soak or are left wet.
End grain vs face grain
An end-grain board (where the cut surface is the ends of the wood fibres, like a cross-section of a log) is more self-healing and gentler on knives than a face-grain board (where the cut surface is the flat side of the wood). End-grain boards are heavier, more expensive, and require more care. Face-grain boards like the OXO wooden board are lighter, cheaper, and still significantly better than plastic for knife maintenance. For most home cooks, a good face-grain hardwood board is the practical choice.
Plastic: better than its reputation for the right uses
A plastic board like the Epicurean board (made from compressed paper, technically) is light, dishwasher-safe, and good for raw meat — you can throw it in a hot dishwasher cycle and actually sanitise it. The material is harder than wood and slightly harder on knife edges. Over years of use, deep grooves form that are impossible to clean effectively, and at that point the board should be replaced. But "at that point" for a good plastic board is 3-5 years, not 6 months. If you have one board and want something low-maintenance, a quality plastic board is a reasonable choice.
The practical recommendation
Most serious home cooks have two boards: a large wooden board for most cooking tasks (vegetables, bread, cooked meat) and a smaller plastic board for raw meat and fish. The wooden board gets oiled regularly and lives on the counter. The plastic board goes in the dishwasher after every use involving raw protein. This setup costs less than €80 total and covers every situation.
