No not really. Not all the wood was maple. A couple other pieces got in there. But one piece of maple did have a really nasty knot in it. I actually broke the piece of wood that I have been using for a baton all winter. So, I did take the DF back out of the wood and go in at a different spot. Other than that, this was not even enough to qualify it as broke-in.....yet <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />