As a knife maker, I'm going to share a little personal philosophy, here.

First, how does it feel in your hand? I realize that a sgian dubh is normally treated as just a dress accessory, but I value any knife as a tool first. If it isn't comfy in your hand, it isn't a good tool.

I've had a few knives that looked pretty odd and felt really good, and a few that looked great and felt lousy. The ideal is a good handle that looks good, too.

It looks loads better than my first knife, so nothing I say here is at all meant to be anything other than constructive.

I make handles out of wood that is pretty. It needs to either be striking in color or striking in grain. So, a plain maple or oak handle just isn't that interesting, since it is small. A curly maple or birdseye maple handle is stunning. Rosewoods have a color range that is lovely. But a plain wood just isn't going to stand out. Antler is just about always pretty, though.

I personally round over the butt of any knife handle. That corner or edge will dig into the palm when you are cutting anything. It will hurt, raise blisters, and make you hate your knife. Took me a few years to learn this tip, and you got it right at the start!

The real test of your design is to use the knife. A lot. Cut some rope, whittle on a stick, slice cardboard. You will revise a lot of your ideas on function that way.

But if you just want decorative, the only change I would urge on you is to make it from a more dramatic piece of wood.

Again, much better than my first effort!

-Patrick