Basswood - Beginner's Premium Carving Blocks Kit - Best Wood Carving Kit for Kids - Preferred Soft Wood Block Sizes Included - Made in The USA

First, let me start with my preconceptions:* I swear I saw somewhere that each set of blocks was 20lbs, which is why I was so excited and bought two. Seemed too good to be true. Should have known better. That's on me.* Based on that, I expected large blocks. I also expected a total of 40lbs of wood, so that belief kind of makes sense.* The description indicates that there are "absolutely no knots." You can see a few from my images, in 3 of the 10 blocks.Here are some realities:* The images of the product show me the dimensions of each block. I should have been able to tell that there would NOT be 40lbs of wood.* The wood is still quite high quality. Despite those "knots" I think I am being a little unreasonable in my expectations. Those are surface knots (or just minor imperfections), and I can definitely cut them out.* I have yet to even cut into one of these blocks. I was so shocked by the size that I am writing a review before I do. After I do, I will write another review.* I am not a Master of the art of whittling. I'm very much a beginner. These blocks are actually pretty great for me - and there is no way I could personally cut the blocks to this size for practicing.* Delivery was a day late - but it was really more like 10 hours late (was supposed to be here last night by 9pm, but it arrived early this morning). I don't blame that on the shipper, though, so much as whatever company delivered it. And it was still within what I would consider a very reasonable shipping window. So... no fault there really.* The size consistency is actually rather shocking. They aren't perfect, but I don't expect wood so perfect I don't want to carve it. I'm impressed.* The packaging is quite nice, even after shipping. The block sets are definitely gift-worthy.Additional Thoughts:* These blocks are worth every cent I paid for them. I'll likely buy a few more sets. Now that I know they are rather small, my expectations are realigned. I like these things.* To me, the phrase "Complete Whittling Kit" should contain a knife. I'd recommend modifying that wording.* There are way too many capital letters in the description. Drives me nuts. But that is just me. I still bought two of them, so maybe the description is perfect.* Another image that shows a size comparison of the whole set against something else would be nice, but to be fair the information is there.Alright, that's enough explanation I think. In summation, I love these kits and thinking I was getting a bunch of wood is really on me. The quality is quite good, the sizes are fantastic, and the price point isn't very high for what I received. I can't hold the size being smaller than expected against the seller. I apologize for being long winded. It is who I am =).

As advertised, arrived promptly, very clean wood!

It's pretty good. Couple of rough spots here and there, but it is decently soft. The grain seems all in the same direction. Over all, it's wood.

This is an excellent starter kit -- the basswood is of very high quality, which makes carving it a joy. I would highly recommend it for beginners and experienced carvers. I will have to look into whether or not this company sells the wood in larger blocks for larger products, but I would definitely buy it again, and recommend it to any aspiring or experienced carver!

My son is new to carving and this wood was perfect for a beginner project. The wood grain was clear and tight making it easier to carve and sand. Thank you for a great product.

Excellent wood for carving. An you can glue multiple pieces together for a larger piece. Like a block or flat piece. It's a nice wood not to hard or soft. An it's very therapeutic and with keeping your blades an carving tools sharp you will have endless hours of enjoyable wood projects.

As a beginning wood carver, I've appreciated the differences in quality, dimension, density, etc., of basswood products available. This wood is very good, carves easily, and has the right density for the job. I'll be buying more. The sizes in this package are good for a lot of common carving applications.

The photo and description are decieving. The wood is much smaller than I thought it would be for the price I paid. I should have looked closer at the size listed in the specs. The wood is good quality however.