Sgian Dubh
"I think I recall from a class on inlay with Latta that what the English call sycamore is in fact a maple and close to our "soft maple".
He's right in that they are both Acers, i.e., A. Pseudoplatanus ([European] sycamore) and A. rubrum (soft maple). In terms of working properties and appearance either as unworked wood or as a finished item, I can't recall ever working soft maple: so I can't make comparison or judgement outside my experience of hard maple and (European) sycamore. Slainte.