Advice/Opinions needed......please

A while back one of the knife makers contacted me asking if I had any decent Birdseye Maple.
I told him that it wasn't something I normally carry but it should be pretty easy to find.....or so I thought. There was a lot out there but finding pieces with lots of eyes and good figure on both sides wasn't so easy.

Several months later (last week) I was contacted by a guy with some old stock that was supposed to be decent stuff so I bought it. I figured if nothing else I could use it for other projects. Today I cut off an end piece and sanded it. I actually like it. So far what I am seeing is a decent amount of eyes with some 3 dimensional figure in between.

Now for the opinions and advice.
What do you all think?
Good?......Boring? .....or?
Should I get some of this stabilized for handle material?
Should I have some of it dyed? If yes, what colors would you like?
Please let me know what you think so I can make a better decision of what to do with the wood.
If nobody likes it I can still use it to make some long overdue furniture pieces for home.
Thank You in advance for all of your good advice.

This was a piece I cut off the end. Some will be a bit bolder with more eyes.

Being a guitar nut as well as knife nut, I like Birdseye. Sometimes used as guitar necks. I'd use it for a knife handle.

Love it.

7.3 on Coolmeter.

meh, might be alright for those silly cowboy blades


Be well,
Mikey

I vote for stabilizing it. I'm a fan of natural wood but think birdseye or tiger maple can really pop with a light touch of dye.

I like it if it has eyes in the density of the piece you are showing or more. Stabilizing brings out a little depth and it is more interesting than plain wood.

Stefan

I like it but yeah stabilize it.

I made a good buy on the wood so it won't be expensive.
But the raw wood cost is only a portion of what goes into determining the selling price.
That is based on; wood cost, stabilizing cost and preparation time/labor.
I have cut a couple dozen blocks so far to use as a test.
I am thinking I will do about 25% natural coloring and 75% dyed.

Burl Source said:

I am thinking I will do about 25% natural coloring and 75% dyed.

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Nice, I like this stuff.