Hi Pete, thank you for bringing this to our attention. Usually, when the wood is properly color matched, noticing the differences would be more difficult to do. When it's poorly color-matched, the variance in grain makes the sections very noticeable. We apologize for this situation, and you can certainly exchange that handle for a better section (provided you haven't stained or painted the rail.). If you have additional questions or need more information, we'll reply as quickly as we can. Thank you.