Japanese Knife With Handmade African Black Wood Handle - Deba Knife

I love beautiful knifes, but I am a woodworker not a metal smith so I imported this traditional Japanese Deba knife blade. Overall knife length: 12 3/4", blade length: 6 1/2", 2" wide, and 1/4" thick. This knife is made from the best quality Damascus steel; I have counted 12 layers of steel. The knife is engraved "made by Hiro". The knife is as thick as a meat cleaver and has the rounded nose of a Santoku knife; it has a one sided edge on the show side (layered side). The back side that looks flat but it is actually concave to allow the knife to cut into fish for example. I love it to butcher chicken or remove bone from any meat; this knife does it best! The unique blade is made of hard Shirogami Hagane carbon steel laminated and hand forged with soft iron. This hard tempered (Rockwell 62) single edge carbon steel blade can be easily honed to a razor sharp edge so be warned and use with care! My job is to make a beautiful handle for your knife blade. I started with African Black wood. This wood is very hard and dense. I added a stainless steel spacer and brass ferrule to give the handle strength. I shape and then sanded the wood handle silky smooth with up to 1000 grit sand paper. I buffed the handle with carnauba wax so the wood grain and color come out and give a natural look. The wax will soon wear away and the knife should be oiled with mineral oil or waxed with beeswax and will provide a lifetime of use. For shipping in the USA; I will use Priority mail with delivery confirmation. Both United States and Foreign customers will have to make special arrangements with me (via email) for Express mail, mail insurance, or signature confirmation. To date all 230 plus packages shipped have made it to there destinations; once the USPS takes possession of the package I will not be responsible for lost mail.