varmint, imagine trying to shape something that is second only to a diamond in hardness. enamel, the white streks in the grip, is some tough stuff, it did come from a mammoth after all. the reddish sections are fairly soft so it's tricky to work without having dips. i usually go through one or two bandsaw blades and three or four sand belts per knife. drill bits don't last that long either. then throw on top off all this the scale could shatter or chip during shaping. it is cool watching how the scales light up while bandsawing when the blade tries to cut through the enamel. i almost forgot, a good set of scales usually costs around $75-100+, but they do make a beautiful knife!