Clear pine is almost fun to hew. Knotty pine is .....not. When you make your juggle cuts/notches you need to put one notch on each side of each knot or you'll get tear out (or in). I'll probably get hate mail for this but I cheat. You see I'm a cheap bastard and don't like making 2 cord of kindlin wood per beam so I take and mill the logs down to about an 1" heavy on all faces , and then hew to near fin dimensions. HEW IMMEDIATLY AFTER MILLING. If you let them dry don't bother trying to hew ( drawshave ). I hew in a non tradional method but the procedure is about the same. chalk a line ,cut juggle notches, split off juggles, broadaxe, optional adzing. I've found I end up with a beam that has a more subtle hewn fin. but has alot less knot tear-out. If your interested I'll share my tools and tech. forhewing next time I'm on. If any one else has any hew tricks I'd be interested in hearing them. Back is killing me Timbo out