I came here because I'm new to axes and have been following Buckin' Billy Ray on Youtube to learn more. He recommended Beaver Tooth axe handles saying you can't go wrong and from the looks of this handle I'm thinking the same: nearly vertical hickory wood grain with zero blow outs, great feel in my hands, kerf cut just fine, wedges look good... Looking at its shoulder, it may end up an inch shorter (29") once I mount the head but I'm a 5'6" woman so that'd be just fine. Will replace the old handle on my chopping axe that has a significant split through its shoulder. I'm going to follow closely how the masters make a perfect fit for the head (barely curling the shoulder wood all around the head) probably an easy job seeing how well cut and tapered it is. Thank you so much!