I loved seeing that the strips ran the full length of the product. We saw no finger joints for material including on the 10-foot long piece. And we saw the smallest amount of sap wood and were extremely pleased with the product. The product did price on the high end of quotes but wasn’t the MOST expensive. It also wasn’t delivered as fast as some of the higher priced items had been quoted but was still better than most other quotes for delivery. But above everything else, the customer service was remarkable and saved me from a measurement error where I had ordered one piece that was already in process and was 6” short. A complete pleasure to work with and would 100% buy from again as well as recommend to anyone wanting butcher block!