I put some nice sheep horn scales on a knife recently and made the mistake of heating it a bit too much while shaping it on the belt sander. The layers started separating. Live and learn, I guess.
That's a beautiful piece of work, Lin.
Care to share the secret for "staining" stainless steel (other than heat colors)?
Your knife is one of my prized pieces that I try to work just a little closer to with each knife I make. Definitely the benchmark!