Abalone would be a bad choice for a kitchen knife. The shell would not hold up well and the acids in cooking/washing would quickly dull the shine. Ziricote is good.
Personally, I don't like fancy bolsters on kitchen knives. It is a place where an eventual crack or failure will form. Kitchen knives get used heavily and get wet/dirty/washed many times.
The best rules for kitchen Knives are:
1) Simple design and lies. No fancy swops and jimping, etc.
2) Simple handles. Forget finger grooves and palm swells. Metal bolsters are great, but fancy wood and colorful bolsters are usually a problem later on. Fairly straight and basic shapes with a small bird's hear at te most.
3) Rock solid fasteners on the handle. Corby bolts are the king here. Pins and rivets will eventually work loose.
4) High quality epoxy seal between the handle and tang. Mortising the tang is best, but gluing it up isd fine. Use 24 hour cure epoxy and DO NOT CLAMP HARD. If using Corby bolts ( highly recommended) just snug down evenly so the scales seat on the tang. If you clamp the scales down hard on any knoife you will squeeze out all the epoxy and eventually get a handle failure. Over clamping can also cause the scales to warp.
5) Remember - this is a user. If you make it fancy it will end up a drawer/rack queen. make it simple and functional and it ,may get used every day.
