Thanks for the kind comments fellas. Ben, the shaping on the front of the scales was designed as retention in the Kydex it will be wearing. I would hate it if the knife wasnt where it was supposed to be when there is a need for it.
Lin, I am big on testing because I want to pull every little bit of potential out of the steel. I started testing this one on a pine 2"x2". I shaved chopped and cut. It handled these tasks well so I found a knot it the 2"x2" and chopped it repeatedly. Again it showed no damage and still shaved. Next I did some crunching cuts through 3/8" sisal rope. At over 200 cuts it would still cut hair. All this without touching up the edge again.
I really enjoyed making this one. Forging it was a bit trickier than I first thought. I like to see the knife in the forged product. This one required more shaping on the grinder than I usually do.
Chris