(Not Chief, but I think I know what he means...)

The shop won't do any ol' "CW" material that comes in. First you have size requirements depending on the blade (there's a sheet floating around). Second, they may have other concerns, like "stabilized pinecone" being too fragile, buffalo horn not taking the epoxy, etc.

So when you have something in your hand that you'd like to consider, it's best to have the shop take a look at it before committing it to a build.