Midwest Tungsten Service Tungsten Cube Set, 2 Inch + 1 Inch (2 Cubes)

I’m going to individually review the 1” and the 2” tungsten cubes that came as part of a sale. Both the one and two inch come in a great package. It feels unexpectedly (but still realistically) heavy for its size. Then you open it up and there’s a smaller box. At this point you start to think “huh, that’s dense”. You open up that box and realize that all that heft came from two little boxes. Amazing. The one inch cube is strange. Even though the density is indeed very high, the weight itself isn’t heavy enough for your brain to REALLY go “wow, how is that so heavy?”. It’s satisfyingly heavy though. I don’t know how to describe it, it just feels nice to hold so much weight condensed into such a small space. The two inch cube is completely different. Even disregarding its size, it’s still pretty heavy (not something you’d work out with or anything, just something you’d pick up and say “that’s a chonky boy”), so the effect is MUCH, MUCH stronger. The first time I picked it up it was like an entire epiphany, realizing this ISNT EVEN THE DENSEST ELEMENT. It never gets old. You’d think after holding it for long enough it’s insane chonk wouldn’t be novel anymore, but literally every time you pick it up it suprises you with its superior strength. As for the durability, don’t worry. At all. If you think you’re gonna drop this thing, then you should be worried about the ground you’re dropping it on. Although pure tungsten is very brittle, MTS made an alloy of a few different metals that makes it much more resilient. It doesn’t tarnish or rust, doesn’t break, doesn’t bend (it’ll probably bend your hammer though), and it’ll probably outlive you. I’d recommend putting this thing in your will because it’s probably going to end up as an heirloom for generations to come. Everything seems light, airy, and hollow now. This cube changed my life, and it’ll change yours.

I had purchased their 1.5" Aluminum cube and was really impressed with the transaction, packaging and item. So I knew that this 2" Tungsten cube would be a thing of beauty. It has a "other worldly" vibe to it when held (lifted), obviously not something a person experiences daily. Or ever. Meaning: The weight of this cube compared to it's size is incredible. Some people collect bottle caps. Coins. Prisms. Watches. Crystals. I don't care how much any trinket is worth. It's fine, they sit there in a box or on a shelf. But this cube!? This thing is more impressive to me than gold. Pure entertainment in my world. It's on my desk. Truly unique. Thanks Midwest Tungsten Service. This cube also arrived with a 1" Tungsten cube which was part of the Amazon sale, and I'm happy to own both. I have no regret regarding the sticker price.

This is the "minimum" cube you must buy if you want to feel the glorious heft of tungsten in your hand. I purchased the 1-cm cube first, which was a waste, because it's simply too light - the density doesn't really register. The one-inch cube is also too light to be remarkable. But this one... this one is terrific. When you pick up the 2-inch cube, you realise you're not handling something mundane. This thing is dense. The manufacturing quality is superior. I've seen cheaper cubes that had a rough finish, and edges and corners sharp enough to be uncomfortable to hold. But this one has a beautiful brushed finish with radiused edges and corners. When I purchased this, I was reasonably sure it would be the kind of novelty item that's interesting for a day or two, then loses its luster. Happily, that has turned out not to be the case at all. Far from being purely ornamental, it's a superb hand/finger exercise tool. What sets it apart from normal weights like dumbbells is, of course, its density. It's not practical to have a dumbbell sitting on your desk, but this cube fits in just fine. Dumbbells are also too big to work your fingers independently. This cube, on the other hand, is small enough that you can do all kinds of exercises that are simply impossible with a dumbbell or any other weight. Simply holding it between the tips of your thumb and fingers and turning it around, and doing finger/wrist flexions and extensions, is enough to give your finger, hand, and wrist muscles a respectable workout. You can try lifting it with a thumb and two fingers, or a thumb and one finger, to build your grip strength. When you can pick it up between your thumb and little finger, you'll know that you have strong hands. (A tungsten cube every other day keeps RSI away? Quite plausible.) The only problem is that you soon get used to the weight and hunger for something heavier, and these things are expensive - the price grows cubically, for obvious reasons. If Midwest Tungsten were to provide an adjustable cuboid that let you add plates incrementally, that would be an excellent tool for building hand/finger/wrist health and strength.

I bought the 1" and 2" Tungsten cubes. They are exactrly what I expected. The little one feels heavy, but then the large one is - wow, this thing is heavy. What is depressing, is, now I am going to have to spend $4K, to purchase the 4" cube. Maybe even the 3" cube to have a complete set. Would probably make a handy weapon against intruders. I would not want anyone throwing these at me. Sort of like the A-10 throwing spent uranium at a tank. If you can, save your money, and buy the largest cube you can afford.

Best was opening the box - it comes in a four-and-a-half inch cardboard container that is satisfyingly heavy. On opening the box and removing the first layer of foam liner, the top to the cube is revealed and the realisation that all the mass of the package is concentrated in that smaller volume is wonderful - it was definitely the best way to show it off. The cube is beautifully finished with great precision. Absolutly no disappointment. One use might be as a fund raiser - wrap it in decorative paper, or make a wooden casket, and have people pay to guess the weight. They don't get to hold it unless they pay for a guess. At a well-attended event, word will spread that it's worth a go. Split the take - between the closest guess (in grams) and your good cause. It might be a good idea to have an everyday object - a large tin of food with the gross weight given so that they have a comparison. It will only work once, of course, or people will remember the winning mass from last time. And don't tell anyone what is in the mystery package, or they'll go online to research the answer.

Very dense cube, great decoration or conversation starter. The 1" is very fun to chuck at objects as they will sustain heavy damage, without having to throw it too hard. Funny to see friends reactions when I explain I have just spent $500 on tungsten cubes, just because "its a tungsten cube!". TDLR: Very good purchase and well worth the money.

Do you want one of the densest materials that you can get a reasonable quantity of? This about fits the bill. Not quite 100% tungsten (a product insert details the precise alloy composition and their rationale for selecting it) but for a desk ornament you still get all of the talking points, including its stupendous mass for its size. While the 1" cube is indeed the same density as the 2" cube, its lower overall weight still makes your brain say "something this size might weigh this amount". This logic in no way applies to the 2" cube. The 2" cube, while not particularly heavy in absolute terms, is WILDLY unexpectedly heavy for its size (thanks to the square-cube law). When going to pick it up (even after having done so dozens of times), your brain just doesn't realize it needs to pull up as hard as is needed to actually lift it. An odd effect, and it does make for a great conversation starter if you go and ask someone to go pick it off the desk for you. As a plus, it doesn't seem to tarnish (looking at you, unvarnished copper...). Although fingerprints and whatnot will have to be cleaned off every once in a while, I've noticed no appreciable oxidation after extensive handling and at least several weeks of ownership. Just don't drop it...because I can guarantee you that whatever it is that stops its fall (floor, foot, or otherwise) WILL NOT SURVIVE. Seriously. You can google a video of a group dropping a 4" block (aka 8x the mass of the 2" cube) from various heights to demonstrate the destructive power. Fortunately for you, the mass of these blocks means that as long as you keep them on their decorative stands (included in the purchase) they will NOT move around unexpectedly. Thanks, inertia!

This is a very high quality item from Midwest Tantalum Service that is best considered a novelty item. The item probably has little practical purpose, but it is attractive and can certainly function as a paper weight or merely as a conversation piece. It's primary interest relates to its incredible density (19.3 g/cm3), almost identical to gold, but at a fraction of the cost. The 2" cube weighs about 5.2 lbs (2.36 kg), which is a lot of mass packed into such a small volume. The unsuspecting observer is caught completely off guard trying to pick this thing up for the first time. The fit, finish, and packaging all bespeak the excellent quality of this item and the attention to detail provided by Midwest, which is commendable. Also, the free 1" cube is a nice perk, and while still counterintuitively somewhat shocking to someone picking it up for the first time, the effect is not quite as dramatic as with the 2" cube. The only disappointment is the cost. We bought the 2" cube (with the free 1" cube) in April, 2020 for two-ninety-nine USD, which was not cheap. Now, the same item (also with the free 1" cube) apparently sells for four-ninety-nine USD, about a sixty-seven percent increase! I have no idea how the company justifies this price, except perhaps by customer interest and demand, because the price of tungsten does not appear to have increased to this degree since last year. This is a shame, since we wanted to purchase the 2.5", 3", and possibly 4" cubes to add to our display for the benefit of our showroom customers, but it's hard to justify the expense, considering that the 4" cube now costs about thirty-five hundred USD - yikes! I guess we'll be waiting to see if prices return to something more within our reach in the near future. Overall, a very nice item, that would make a great gift to any science or gadget lover or for the person who "has everything."