Quote Originally Posted by svc40bt View Post
How was the burl, to work with?
No real surprises working the burl. Worked it slowly and a little bit at a time with hand tools and had no problems. Although, I did "stabilize" it in wood hardener before I started. Looking back, I think the maple would have been hard enough without the hardener. The hardening material darkened up the wood a bit more than I was expecting/wanting.

I've got another project going right now on which I didn't "stabilize" the burl, so I'll be sure and post pics/lessons-learned from that project when it's done.

As far as blades go, I've ordered several damascus blades from Caulfield Leather and been thoroughly impressed with the workmanship. Price is good too. http://www.caulfieldleather.co.uk/

Hope this helped.