Elia
I can't answer your question but on a similar note there was a company in 2004-2005 showing at the IWF in Atlanta that was compression bending and shipping you the moisture packet plastic sheeting encased compressed wood to work & bend yourself. Anybody know their name and if they are still around? They were wrapping 8/4 in tight knots at the show, pretty intriguing?
I worked in the contract furniture field and we subbed out most all of our curved rails to Sawyer Bentwoods. Great people to work with.
Just remember your not just steaming, but also compressing; i.e. your collapsing / plasticizing the wood cell structure and essentually folding the cell walls over themselves and then freezing them back by drying and will only regain about 60-80% of the strength back respective of amount of bend & especially considering your tool handle scenario. Drying and post bend clamping / aging are crucial with regard to brittleness.
Speed does matter as the video shows too much handling time before its in the jig from my experience steaming, your on another level with adding compression.
Best of luck,
Tom