A hoof knife was one of the things they tried before settling on the vinyl cutters, Duck.
The finish was my homemade friction finish. Three or four drops of 50-50 tung oil and citrus oil, and three or four drops of 1.5# cut of platina shellac on a piece of t-shirt, and apply to the piece going around pretty dang fast on the lathe. Repeat if needed.
Nathan, the “American Peasant” book from LAP has the ideas the Schwarz came up with.