You are absolutely right about your advice on the sheath, MacMillan. The blades are 440C, which is a very good stainless steel and unlikely to rust in anything other than a corrosive salt spray. The sheaths are waxed well (and heated to melt the wax into the leather). I've been at this for a while and living in Alaska means I am familiar with a wide range of weather!

I experimented a few years back (shoot, more like a decade ago!) with Kydex sheaths. Thermoforming plastic that can make a very solid and durable sheath, though not as pretty as leather. For a while I was fond of that material because it is waterproof, sweat-proof, and very resistant to accidentally sticking a knife through it (which I did once with a leather sheath in an awkward situation). However, I try to carry a knife for a year or so with any new innovations before I make a decision about those improvements. Often, I can tell in days if there is a problem, but with Kydex it took months. When the weather got cold, my sheath actually broke at the belt loop and fell off. So, I went back to leather.

I'm really happy with the ironwood and will be making more knives with that as a handle.

Update- one of those ironwood sgians (the one with more swirly grain) has just been sent off to one of the members of this forum in exchange for a bagpipe chanter I've been wanting for over a year. The other three will be offered for trade as soon as I get around to posting a message on the trade board.

-Patrick