I don't doubt the time it took. I did some woodworking in the past when my hands would do what I told them to (though I never reached your skill level), so I know it is NEVER as simple as so many people seem to believe.
I'm going to have to plan a trip to the wood store after I'm back up and around. I looked at the walnut i have here and none of it has that crazy grain pattern.
Funny thing is that particular piece of walnut came from a "discount" pile at the wood store. They had a pallet of 6 foot pieces that were only $6 a board foot (normal full length boards are $13/bd. ft. if in remembering right).
That pallet had mostly narrow boards, mostly kinda twisted/ warped, cracked, and generally messed up enough to make you not want to deal with them. But... those twisted, warped pieces had some amazing grain. I bought one to see if i could use it. The best grain patterns come from forks, knots, and generally bad parts of the tree.
Half the board is too crooked to use. But you could cut some of them down, straighten it and have a nice piece. Of course, the other half might be trash, so your back to paying full price (well, $12 /bd ft).