It will be interesting to see how it smokes after you've broken it in for a while. If it smokes well now, you may find it just as good as briar in the long run.
sorry
...
now she has been smoked for 5 times... i can say i am very surprized - she smokes even better (IMO) than briar... everything is as good as briar, the taste of the tobaccoes is fine, no problems at all... and she holds the heat better than briar... so, i am a happy bird... will make few more pipes from this wood for sure...