The shift knob is hard and looks well made from. It was delivered in a metal box, so actually perfectly prepared as a gift, for which he was intended. Beautiful are the various rubber linings, for A4 of my friend, he also fitted, the only drawback was that it was not quite finished at the transition between the leather bag and pommel, so it's a little niche in between, so the shift knob is slightly higher than previously , but not otherwise further wild. Was definitely a good buy :-)