In hammers, hickory is the best.
A Vaughn ( spelling? ) California Framer, with hickory handle, is THE framing hammer, and I never want to hear about Estwing steel-shaft hammers again.
The shock-absorption in the hickory is wonderful.
( I've never worked as a framer, but I have worked a few years as the grunt-guy on construction sites, and have tried many different tools, trying to find the ones that work properly for years )
The only question is whether the springiness of hickory would make it prone to falling-off the file quicker than rock-maple would..
Mind you, humidity expansion/contraction would probably be a factor in that, so maybe sealing the stuff, soaking it in varnish or something?
Anyways, it's an experiment I'd do, and if the hickory doesn't work-out, then try rock maple, see?
A psychiatrist explained to me, years ago, that women are much more likely to attempt suicide, but by using less-violent means, are much less-likely to succeed in terminating their lives.
Males are less likely to try it, but more likely to succeed.
Girls/women usually try pills, overdoses, guys usually try something violent.
See the "more suicides are tried by girls & women" part of the equation, not just the "more successful suicides are by males" part of the equation.
( I've faint marks from when I opened both wrists with a scalpel-blade, when I was about 10yo, and haven't had the guts to intentionally make-absolutely-certain of my termination .. perhaps-ever.
Both parts of the equation I'm identifying are offensive/wrong, and mis-representing of what's actually going on, as various "activist" factions do, is what I'm attacking. )