The picture accompanying this article about the rebuilding of Notre Dame's roof shows something that looks like a hoe being used as the dumbhead in a shaving horse. The architects and craftsmen who are working on that project are insistent that they are doing it authentically. So it seems that you can use metal for the clamping part of a shaving horse.
Metal-Shaving-Horse.jpg
Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.
Hey John, sorry it took me awhile to parse your questions.
Yes, all the shave horses I have seen have been made of wood. Certainly the jaws have been. That protects the work piece from being marred. But if that is not a concern clearly a metal jaw may be used.
Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.
I love a woman who dresses in stainless steel ... and carries tiny ads: