The cheese board worth setting out.

Boska has made cheese tools in the Netherlands since 1896, and its slate board is the cheapest way into a proper cheese course. It measures about 13 by 9 inches, a third of an inch thick, with non-slip feet underneath, and it goes in the dishwasher.

The dark surface is the reason to buy slate. Pale cheeses, fruit and crackers stand out on it, and the names of the cheeses can be written on the board in chalk and wiped away afterward. For a small gathering it is all the board a table needs.

Skip it if you care about your cheese knives. Slate is stone, and cutting on it dulls blades faster than wood does. It is also on the small side for more than four cheeses.

Boska's Amigo boards are European beech, a close-grained hardwood that is kind to knife edges and has long been used for cutting boards. The medium size carries a small cheese course or a loaf of bread with room to slice, and a handle makes it easy to carry to the table and hang up afterward.

Wood is the natural home for cheese. Knives glide instead of skidding, the surface does not clatter, and a board that is used and oiled for years takes on a patina that slate and marble never will. Boska advises hand washing its wood boards, drying them thoroughly and treating them with board oil now and then.

Skip it for a large party. The medium board suits four to six people. For more, buy two, or look at the larger marble or teak picks below.

This board is 23 inches long, 8 inches wide and three quarters of an inch thick, cut from natural white marble. It weighs nearly 14 pounds, which is the point: it does not move when someone leans on a hard cheese with a knife.

The long, narrow shape suits a dinner table better than a square board. It runs down the center between the candles, and guests on both sides can reach it. Marble stays cool to the touch, and the white stone sets off dark fruit, cured meat and honey well.

Skip it if the cheese knives are good ones, because stone dulls blades. Marble is also porous: red wine, fig jam and oily cheeses can stain it if left sitting. Wipe it soon after serving, and hand wash only.

Tête de Moine, the Swiss monastery cheese, is meant to be shaved rather than sliced, and the girolle is the tool for it. A wheel of cheese sits on a pin in the wooden base, and a stainless steel blade turns across the top, taking off thin frilled curls. It is the one cheese tool guests ask about.

The Amigo version adds a dome that fits over the base, so a half-eaten wheel can go straight back into the refrigerator without rewrapping. Boska says the dome is dishwasher safe and unbreakable; the base and blade are hand wash only. It also shaves chocolate for desserts.

Skip it if nobody in the house eats Tête de Moine or similar firm cheeses. It is a single-purpose tool, and a good one, but it earns its space only if it gets used.

Teakhaus builds this block from FSC-certified plantation teak, set end grain up, the checkerboard construction butcher blocks use. End grain is the kindest surface to a knife: the fibers part and close again rather than being cut. Grip handles make it possible to carry, which matters for a board this size.

As a cheese board it is a statement: a single dark slab for a big spread of cheese, bread, fruit and cured meat, with nothing to slide and nothing to chip. The rest of the week it is a serious cutting and carving block, so it earns its space.

Skip it if you want something light. A block this thick is heavy, needs a place to live, and must be hand washed and oiled. Teakhaus says it is not dishwasher safe.