Counter tops what material?

[Dan Espen]

Corian says

"They are less damaging to knives..."

Yes, I believe them.

[SteveB]

Anything. It looks good, but it is soft.

[Joe]

All the B.S. aside, Formica and similar laminates will be around years from now after all the yuppie fads have met the landfill. Short of using as a chopping block, nothing much bothers it, and the $$ are best of all. My kitchen remodel will have Formica (replacing 30 YO stuff). I might even use faux granite just to impress the neighbors

[Jim Yanik]

Dan Espen wrote in news: [e-mail]:

than concrete.... 8-)

wood is far more benign to knife edges,IMO.

and I've read that plastic cutting boards retain bacteria much longer than wood cutting boards. wood wicks away moisture while the plastic traps it in the grooves.

Plus,I just like wood....so I guess I'm biased. :-)

YMMV and all that.

[Norminn]

clipped

I can't imagine that plastic would harbor bacteria longer than wood. With fine scratches from knives, either would harbor bacteria unless cleaned properly. Any time that I cut meat on a cutting board, I use a 3M scrubber and soapy water for a quick scrub. Rinse quickly with cold water, wipe dry. Salmonella and e-coli are a little scary.

[Dan Espen]

No.

It's not soft.

What do you have against Corian?

My cutting board is 4 years old and the scratches are invisible to the eye. I can feel them with my fingers. I guess if I spent more elbow grease with a scrub pad the scratches would disappear. I'm not worried about it.

The plastic acts like teflon, it's easy to cut on and the sharp edge of the knife sinks in just enough that the knife stays sharp. You can feel the cuts but they're hard to see.

The plastic is quite hard. It easily breaks glasses dropped on it. It will not scratch if you drag a pot or pan across it. You'd have to use something hard and sharp and press down with force and then move it.

It's also very repairable and has a lifetime guarantee that I can attest to.

I am not being paid by Corian. Not yet anyway. :)

[SteveB]

Would that lead one to conclude that Corian is soft?

Steve

[SteveB]

All the B.S. aside, Formica and similar laminates will be around years from now after all the yuppie fads have met the landfill. Short of using as a chopping block, nothing much bothers it, and the $$ are best of all. My kitchen remodel will have Formica (replacing 30 YO stuff). I might even use faux granite just to impress the neighbors

[SteveB]

What do I have against Corian?

Nothing.

I wouldn't use it on a kitchen counter because it scratches so easily, and not everyone uses a cutting board like they're supposed to. Other than that, it's good stuff. I prefer granite or laminates, but that's just me. I do not like Corian for anything but bathroom tops.

YMMV. And probably does.

Steve

[hallerb]

so many want granite, cause it lasts forever and looks good.

the same folks who complain of dated kitchens..... guess what that forever granite is a fad too, something else will come along and date the kitchen.

geez i am old enough to remember before all this yuppie must have everything new............

i seriously doubt we as a nations standard of living can continue like it has in the past. heck our country is a wreck, jobs going overseas, its not sustinable and medicare and social security are going belly up

the days of new shiney everything are coming to a end

[Norminn]

My kids and grandkids are going to get second jobs so's my Medicare doesn't run out. Heck, just when I have something to look forward to. :o)

I can remember, back in the seventies???.....talk about Americans paying $4/gal. for gasoline some day. It might be the best thing that happens to us for the next 10 years. Stay home? No cruising? No mall on Saturday? No pizza delivery? No driving 50 miles on a Saturday night for teen angels to attend raves? Bring it on!

[Dottie]

We remodeled our kitchen three years ago. The builder had installed cabinets made of fiberboard. I had new tile put down on the floor, counter top and back splash after we moved in. Many things to like about tile. Unfortunately, the grout started leaking into the fiberboard cabinets and they swelled up.....that was why we had the remodel job. Now I have one half inch plywood cabinets - but the counter top is laminate. I chose Wilsonart...it is a dark blue speckled. I am careful - I have some left over tile which I use for hot pans. The re-modeler was able to save the tile back splash so all my tiles match. Laminates may be out of vogue but they cost less and they don't leak.