Woods to stay away from: spalted anything, black locust (the bark will kill a mule), most cedars, pine, any wood the bugs won't eat and a lot of the exotics.
The general rule of thumb for a wood that is acceptable to use is any wood from a tree with a running sap, hard maple = maple syrup, or any tree with an edible nut or fruit. Although Oak has an edible nut, I believe the wood is far to porous to be useful.
Also, the hardness has to be considered. If you are using a European brand knife, the wood hardness isn't that meaningful. If you are using a Japanese knife which is a harder steel and has a steeper bevel angle, then the wood hardness can cause chipping problems in the edges.