I said a few posts ago that I hadn't made my mind up on the handle for this one;
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As it turns out the decision came quickly and easily. I've had a bit of very old Oak set aside for something special for a while - my dog brought the Oak piece home from the forest with him one day, he'd been carrying it for about an hour. I'm guessing it'd been sat there for a very long time as whilst the outside was extremely weathered and rotten, the inside was incredibly dense, dry and rock hard. I'd been working on that blade in the days before he passed away.
So I've spent a 'few' hours this week finishing it off. It's 15n20/1080 ladder damascus, the blade is 4" long, and 2.5mm thick. 9" total length. Copper pin and bolster, African Blackwood and Oak handle (Blackwood courtesy of Dyna-Ti; thanks matey!).
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It's the best I've made yet, I think. The photos don't quite show off the depth and pattern of the wood.
Hope you all like.
