I'm with Darksoul on the grain. Hickory can stand a lot of ring violation, but it has it's limits with bad runoffs in the grain. I've had my share of hickory axe handles self destruct in my hands to realize that. That's why my dad would never buy a painted handle, said they must be trying to hide something. It probably would have worked if it came from a stave, but it may have failed in compression instead. JMO.
Julian
