black walnut cutting board turned green!

by Pete
(Ontario, Canada)

I just made my first cutting board from a chunk of black walnut. It looked great after sanding, but as I applied hemp oil on one side, it turned greenish. So I decided to make my own oil by mixing coconut oil with beeswax and applied it to the other side. It promptly turned the same green colour. The only clue I can give you is that while the wood feels very dry and was easy to work with, it was only cut about 3 months ago. Could the green be a result of the wood still being damp?

thanks so much,

Pete

--------

Arbutus Ron here,

Do you have any pieces left before oiling? If so add a bit of water and see what color it is. If green then I would assume it is the natural color of the walnut. But I think you could be on to something with it not being fully dry. Wood takes time to get completely dry out.