That's awesome. I used to make knives with my dad, as a kid. He was a dentist with his own lab, so he taught me how to use all the lab tools, and we used lost-wax to cast various ornaments to be attached for decoration.

I admit I used to get pretty annoyed after spending hours on the various steps. And I don't really enjoy sharpening either.

Years after he passed away, I found myself on a weekend campout, relating to some scouts the amount of work my dad used to put into making a quality knife. I told them I could baton with this knife he had made for me, no problem. So I gathered the wood, and with one whack knocked the blade clean off!

Upon examination, he had used epoxy to fit a blade with no tang! Later after I returned home, I compared this to his own knives, and they all had tangs.

I am still not sure why or how mine ended up that way--guessing he thought he could finish it up fast and a kid would not exactly expect to baton with this thing...