It's not terrible; Grain is not perfect. If the grain of a short-handled tool is very important to you, buy it from a specialist dealer. If it was a full size ax or sled I wouldn't use it. Pretty sure it will be fine for a small axe. Certainly not "premium" quality. I probably wouldn't buy it again, but it's good enough for my purposes. 3 stars for the lack of the metal wedge as stated and pictured and NOT colored and the wedge slot is not centered.