This is the first knife I built entirely by myself. I designed it as I went along. The blade was forged during a blacksmithing course at Conner Prairie. I annealed, hand-shaped, and hand-sanded the blade starting with 50 grit sandpaper and ending with 230 grit sandpaper. I then hardened and tempered the knife. I continued sanding the blade, ending with 1500 grit sandpaper. I polished it with metal polish and stropped it with a leather belt. The full tang handle is decorated with nickel silver and spalted live oak which I attached with nickel silver pins and epoxy. Attaching the wood was somewhat of a challenge as the tang narrows towards to end. I made the sheath from the leather of a plier belt holder.