I used it once a few years ago to make a hidden tang knife for my girlfriend.
To my recollection, it didn't like to be shaped with edged tools, but did all right grinding it to shape. It's dense and hard, and I think pretty. She was rather pleased with the result.
I love working with it. If you can find a piece that has been seasoned correctly, it is a dream to work but if you are unlucky and get one that is not, you'll end up with bad warping, cracking, checking and splitting.