My favorite pig sticker mortise chisel came with a tiger stripe maple
handle.  It looks like in the long long ago a chip came off but that area
has the same patina as the rest of the handle.

I like to use a Japanese timber framing mallet when mortising and this
handle had stood up to many hours of severe beatings without showing any
effect.

I do concur with every chisel having a district handle to make putting it
in hand easy.

Don Williams has some neat info that will be in his Studly tool chest book
about chisel handles.  I don't know if I can share what he told me and I
don't want to be rude.

Bob