Yeah, it's considered pretty much a "last rites" fix when there aren't any pistons.
Not only does the knurled surface not last as long as the original, the deformation of the skirt to do this weakens it quite a bit. With a really thick cast skirt (think 1955 Jahns) you can get away with it, but I wouldn't use it except to get a few more miles before biting the bullet.
The advantage was that the knurled surface did hold oil nicely, and I've seen scratches, saw marks, grooves etc. added to do this to pistons (that did not fail) by some pretty good shade-tree mechanics back in the day.
