It's porous and takes a lot of filling and finishing time. I also wasted a bunch of time trying to slice it and cut it up freehand on my cheap bandsaw (it was a big piece).
A lot more time was spent making the slot for the tang. This one is not a mortised tang. Since I make slim handles and usually a fairly substantial tang, I can't just bore a big hole in it. I wouldn't do that anyway -- to much slop for me. So I started with a 3/16" hole and worked at it for probably two or three hours with a chainsaw file, making umpteen dry fits until everything flushed up nicely.
However, on the bright side, John Perry called me last night and while we were talking I asked him to make me a custom handle broach for reaming out slots. Part of my problem is having an ill equipped shop. I spend so much time with handwork that it probably takes me three to five times as long to make a knife as the other full-timers I know.
