This through-tang, recurve bowie is my largest knife to date.
With a blade length of 12 1/2″ and a thickness of 0.22″ at the spine, differential hardening, and heavy bronze pommel this weapon presents danger from either end.
The construction is as solid as a tank and is virtually indestructible. The end of the wide, 0.25″ thick tang is threaded and the pommel is torqued solidly to the tang with a bronze nut I drilled and tapped myself. The minimal voids inside the handle are 100% filled with epoxy and the handle is also pinned through the rock hard desert ironwood handle for good measure.
This beautiful beast is no wall hanger. It will perform as good as it looks no matter what task you set it to. This blade can chop, slice/slash, or stab equally well, and the pommel is a virtual sledge hammer that could easily break bones. 60 HRC at the edge will remain razor sharp through heavy use, but the blade is ductile enough that will not crack no matter how hard you strike, and the bonus is the beautiful hamon. Thats the advantage of differential hardening.