I used two basic types of FINISH.
OIL FINISHED pieces, such as the bowl at right, can be used for serving hot or cold food and are hand washable. They should not be left to soak nor washed in a dish washer. They are easy to ‘maintain’. All they require to keep them looking good is the occasional very light application of any edible oil - not the stuff you put on your bike! I use sunflower. Apply oil sparingly and leave it, say, overnight then wipe off the excess - of which there should be none! I treat mine about once a year if I remember. If oil finished bowls are not going to be regularly washed they will gradually take a good wax polish.
LACQUERED items, such as the piece at left, while damp resistant, should not be washed. They can be wiped with a damp cloth if necessary. The advantage over an oil finish is that lacquered items need little maintenance, requiring only dusting or polishing depending on their use. Lacquered items look shinier than oiled. I used a ‘half matt’ or ‘satin’ finish. Their shine can be increased by wax polishing.
Wooden PLATTERS, BOWLS, GOBLETS, DISHES and other ‘foody’ items are all practical, non toxic, non tainting, usable utensils - including those with inscriptions. They may (and should!) be HAND WASHED. But don't put them in the oven to warm up as one prized customer did! Tests comparing the hygenic properties of wooden kitchen items with those supposedly innocuous plastic things show wood winning hands down. There is apparently an enzyme in wood that engages bacteria in mortal combat whereas plastic harbours filth. Good eh?
All my turnery was made from solid timber NOT from little bits of tropical hardwood glued back together with toxic substances like the cheap and nasty imports that abound. I used no foreign, French or tropical hardwoods, only home grown, British timber, most of it ‘rescued’ from firewood merchants. Orang-utangs have nothing to fear from me! Neither do the politicians and crooks felling, selling, exporting and importing tropical hardwoods benefit by so much as one groat from me.