As mentioned above, I'd stay clear of cheap hard wood. Back when I trained at hitting weapons hard
I had the top 9-12 inches of my partners jo shear off while I was blocking yokomen, creating two very sharply pointed pieces of wood. The top 9 inches whizzed like a dagger past my ear and the short spear my partner was wielding stopped near my throat. We were both a little surprised by the situation and realised that could have been ugly. It was made of cheap brittle hard wood.
Funny years latter he still has that short spear as a reminder.