I may do another in hickory, but that will be enough. It can be splintery. Hard is one thing, but splintery is another. I would say that plain maple of equal hardness (rare) is smoother to work, gives cleaner cuts regardless of grain direction, etc. The pores are visible. I do think it is better to work than ash which, for me, is difficult because of seeming difference in hardness at the growth ring edges. I take my hat off to folks who work hard white ash well, and to those who can carve it, the drinks are on me.
I hesitated to talk about stocking in hickory because I think the 3 main stock woods Jim Kibler mentioned in another post (walnut, maple and cherry) are the most common because they are the best American hardwoods to work and suit the needs well. hickory is not the most stable wood with moisture change, but it makes great tough tool handles. Nobody cares if their shovel handle grows a quarter inch when it swells, but a gunstock should not. It won't be my wet weather gun. The grain is plain. It's hard to work and when you lift a splinter it goes deep into the finger.
I'll stain with aquafortis- I've used it for tool handles made of hickory. I may fill the pores with black filler.
