Out of my skill level

I've been working on a mallet head for a jointers mallet. I selected a maple knot burl thinking it would be great because it's very hard and would last a long time. I added some epoxy to stabilize the knot and fill in gaps. Now I'm struggling to plane even one side. I am thinking I may have selected too difficult of wood for my first project. I'm thinking it might be worth working on one that has normal grain and see how that goes and come back to this lovely piece when I can do better.