John BoosWALKCT-BL2425-O Blended Walnut Counter Top with Oi

For $295 you would think this butchers block would be absolutely perfect. The quality is absolutely abysmal and a blind man on a galloping horse could have made it better. I am disgusted at the poor quality and needless to say it’s winging it’s way back to where it came from. My advice would be to steer clear of this product and or manufacturer.

I knew this was designed for one-sided use, so expected some gaps and flaws on the bottom side. However, both sides were equally messed up, with a half-dozen gaps on the "good" side that were greater than 1/16" and filled with loose sawdust. The largest gap was so wide that I could fit 11 playing cards thick in the gap - on the "good" side.One corner was completely smashed in and I had to cut 1/2" off, but the packaging was superb and there was no damage to the package. It was very clear that it was damaged prior to packaging the item.Sanding, or the lack of it was another problem. The walnut was so dry and poorly sanded that when I ran my hand over it the first time, I got about 30 fine splinters in my hand in the first few inches before I could even stop moving.Unfortunately I ordered this a few weeks early and missed the return window because I didn't open it soon enough to check the quality. After hours of attempted repair, I decided to just put it in my shop as a work surface. Bought the same top directly from Boos and it was perfect, just as I have grown to expect from them.Lesson learned: Amazon is selling counterfeit Boos blocks of horrific quality, which explains why it is less than half the price of buying the same item from Boos.

It is beautiful, but it arrived with a split almost all the way through. We are pretty tired of the kitchen project, so we are going to fix it ourselves. Disappointed, to say the least, that this added one more project -- fixing it or returning it.

A *very* pretty piece of laminated wood on the "top side". The back isn't to bad looking either, but there are some defects on that side. Finish is quite nice with a good look to it. So ....why 3 stars? Well, it's been sitting for a couple weeks while I get ready to assemble it into the finished project. It's Saturday so I went to get going. It's ..... errr .... warped. It's not just warped a little. It's warped a lot. Judging by eye, it's warped close to a half inch. It's been sitting against a metal table so it *could* have dried unevenly. I've flipped it over and put a weight on the high point. We'll see what happens in another week or two. Yes it's winter here. Yes the RH is a bit low ( 35% in the basement). For a > $100 piece of wood, not quite what I expected to happen.

For the overall ratings, I expected something more… I should have read the reviews. There are cracks, missing pieces of wood, sawdust in the gaps, a weird glue epoxy in one large gap, cracks, etc. see photos. Both sides have significant cosmetic problems but one side is clearly worse. I assume now this is intended to be a one-sided block. Either way, I was disappointed in the craftsmanship of this board… I bought a solid wood board that was less than a third of the price of this board with far better quality.Be prepared to return it after you get it—maybe I just got a serious dud… thank goodness for Amazon’s return policy; Id have been furious to be stuck with this low-low quality board.