Is it not real wood? It might be resin, colored to look like wood. You could try burning it to see if it burns like wood, or plastic.

It's plastic or a composite, it looks like just plastic though. Since there is no real grain, it did not splinter as wood would.

Are you playing in a black metal band? That would be an explanation :p

Just Foo fighters "Pretender" :-)

It should be Japanese oak, I suspect it's just a fluke, it's a brand new stick and the other pairs I bought seam fine.

It burns like wood, likely just a fluke

Having seen the wood wear near the tip, it seems to me very much like wood. Although not like sticks made of hickory that cracks way more.
Also it does NOT look like resin IMO, resin does not break in a pattern like that. It seem to me to clearly be a fiber material.

Wildflower posted this image earlier, another TAMA stick but made of the same kind of Japanese Oak wood.

TAMA is the one on the left, It does not look like plastic to me.

I guess you could say this stick was not like the others

Looking hat the TAMA site it does seem like it should just be oak, so just a fluke I guess. I thought maybe they pressure/heat treated the wood to harden it but there is no mention of that. I also looked to see if maybe they where resin infused but no mention of that either. ¯\(ツ)/¯

Did you make a wish?

It does look like oak, does it taste like oak? Asking for a friend

My hero

Not quite sure what oak tastes like :-)

Yes... still no mail from Tony Levin asking to join the band thou.

Hey, are you that beaver that got banned from the woodworking community?

What? Me? No, I am a human with ordinary human interests, like dam building and identifying wood by taste, smell, and mouth feel. I even have a ordinary human name... My name is Jack... Jack McHumanface.

Say, you wouldn't happen to have some light poplar or spruce to nipple on? if we're going to be having an inquisition here I'd like to steady my nerves.