That looks good to me, as long as it's like that all the way up and doesn't have any knots or too much twisting in it.
I forget the exact terminology but I've been making them out of one piece of wood around 5 feet long, I don't remember if the one piece are staves or if the two piece you join at the handle are staves.
I've only used Osage Orange wood, I know other woods need to be treated a little differently.