Yes sir, I agree. In fact, most Saturday mornings around here on the local PBS channel, his old show is on, and some of the episodes are actually less than a year or two old. He has aged gracefully.
I learned woodworking that same way from my mother's grandfather, he died back in the mid 1970's at the age of 96, I was 20. He was a German immigrant, a carpenter by trade, made all of his own tools and tool chest as part of his transition from apprentice-journeyman-master process. Wonderful planes, and irons, etc. that he made himself, chisels, gouges, guages, some tools I've never been able to identify, along with one crosscut saw and one ripsaw that he made himself, among many other manufactured saws... still at my father's house, sadly in the basement and turning to rust in the big red toolchest that he made. I have many times tried to get my paws on the whole kit and kaboodle or even one piece at a time, even offered to pay more than they would be worth for him to hang onto, but I'm told that they have more sentimental value just sitting there than money could ever buy...
Anyways, when I first saw Roy sometime around 1988 or so, it was like meeting a long lost cousin, neither of us having a German surname. Love the guy, his show, his books... except the part about boat and kyack making! Way off on those, but who's to fault the guy? Not me.
Anyhow, yes, that is the exact method to which I was referring, drawing the riven splits through progressively smaller holes. Moisture content is a critical factor. Too much or too little and things don't turn out very pretty at all with interlocking grain such as hickory and elm.
Speaking of which, there's another strong and tough wood, less likely to break -- elm. I like red elm (a.k.a. Rock Elm, Slippery Elm) better than white. But hickory is still to be preferred, IMO.
