Between my recent blow-ups, I've been chipping away at a bendy-handle hickory board bow. During the roughing out stage, I exposed this small knot on the upper third of the limb. It was rather small at first but, as I floor tillered, it got bigger. I kept that limb a tad wider than the other and, now that it's at brace, I've kept the knot area stiffer than the rest of that limb. It is getting smaller as I scrape over it but I'm hesitant to scrape it all the way down to bend like the rest of the limb for fear that it will be the fail-point.
Is keeping the knot area stiff the best course of action to make the bow work? Or am I now over stressing the rest of the limb? Worth keeping at it or just add it to the wood pile?
The bow is a hickory-backed hickory board 68" long x 1.5" wide at the fades, tapering to 1/2" nocks in the last third. Tips are stiff for about the last 4".