hard-grained

adjective2

1. •
   Having a dense firm grain.

   • hard-grained wood
2. •
   Uninviting; dour.

   • Though a hard-grained man, close, dry, and silent, he can enjoy old wine with the best. He has a priceless bin of port in some artful cellar under the Fields, which is one of his many secrets. — 1852