Thanks guys. Farmboy and leftieshot, I did make the mosaic stripe. I used a scroll saw and a block sander. I cut several 1/2" strips of cocobolo and ebony from laminations I made. The laminations were 1-1/2" wide by about .050 thick. I cut the strips with my scroll saw set at a 45 degree angle. I alternated them and made points out of the angles and glued them between a .030 piece of purpleheart. It's hard to explain but not that hard to do.
Madness, the finger guard is made of brass. I picked up some nice pieces at the scrap yard real cheap. They were nice enough to let me rummage through their bins. Mike