Bjorn is not suggestiong that Douglas Fir shafts will break but that because it is not as soft as Cedar the finished taper has some nicks in it when tapered with a hand tool. My experience is that very straight, beautifully grained Douglas Fir is readily available, especially that from Surewoodshafts. I have gotten very good Sitka Spruce as well from Hildebrand and again in my experience, comparable Cedar shafting is very, very hard to find as in the number of times that I have tried I have gotten really good Cedar only once.