"The Cockerell". Leitz Summicron 50mm DR

There has been an old tenon saw in my family for many years.  It followed me from South Africa to Boston.  The blade - "plate", they call it - is engraved with the name "The Cockerell", a fairly well-known English brand, Sheffield steel, nothing too fancy.  I believe it was made in the 1930s.  Last year, I decided to give the teeth a good sharpen, and reset them so the sawdust clears efficiently from the cut .  The saw had its original black-painted beechwood handle.  Of course, one thing leads to another...  The store where I usually buy lumber had a selection of highly figured Claro Walnut shorts on sale last year.  So with this saw in mind, I bought a few pieces.  I discovered that another supplier had the correct brass "split nuts" used to attach the handle to the plate.  I ordered some of those.  Then, along came COVID-19 and I found myself furloughed from my job.  What better time to undertake the saw restoration?
The shape of the handle is very traditional, and always includes that very narrow neck from the handle to the mounting.  Because of the way the  grain is oriented, it would be quite easy for the wood fibers to fracture at this point.  So I cut the walnut in half, cut a piece of contrasting bird's eye maple, and laminated the three pieces together with the maple's grain running at right angles to that of the walnut to eliminate the weak point.  Several coats of varnish, some polishing wax and here it is.