Not much to add, except to second most of what's already been said. The wood is super strong in regards to breaking across the grain, but seems to split readily when used for things with lengthwise channels, holes, etc. put into it. (proper drying may help?) When dry it's extremely hard. If you whittle some into toothpicks, you can hardly even dent them with your teeth- it's almost as hard as bone or ivory. So it aught to be pretty durable for handles.
We've also used "hedge wood" for fence posts for generations, and there are still some sections of Dad's pasture fence standing that were set by my great-great-grandfather over 100 years ago. Most of the stuff I've used is pretty plain looking, but we have a big knarly log around the place that was too heavy for our loader tractor to lift, so surely there's a few nicely figured pieces in it somewhere. It naturally grows with a real "bushy" habit so it's hard to find pieces that are straight enough for things like long axe handles or bows, but several years ago we cleared out a whole grove of them that was growing amongst taller hardwood trees, so they were forced to grow straight up to compete for light. We got well over 100 nice & straight fence posts out of that, and still have a whole pile left. The stuff also burns hotter than hades, so if nothing else it sure makes good firewood. Got a story on that part- we almost burned down the shop by stoking the stove with old hedge posts. I've probably written about that in the past though so I'll save it unless anyone is interested in the anecdote.
