Congratualtions, Ben, and good luck come June. The picture is a little small for my old eyes, but, from what I can see, everything looks good. I do have one little pet peeve. The term fighter kind of reminds me of assault weapon or Saturday Night Special. It's just a personal thing, but I hate to give the "Anti" bunch something to jump on. Don't take it personal. That's just my rant. I really like the knife. How about some specs.

Dale

The blade is 1075. It does have a hamon, but the picture doesn't show it. I'm still learning how to pull them out. The handle is California buckeye Burl with a tapered blackwood frame. Does anyone know where to get the powdered abrasive for polishing a hamon ?

Hello Ben. Good looking knife. The flow and design are really nice. Everything looks good from the picture. Also congratulations on your performance test. I know Lin can be tough <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//biggrin.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' /> .

Riogrande jewelry supply sells diamond polishing pastes. You can get pumice powder and rottenstone powder through woodworking supply places. I use 3M autobody rubbing compound in medium cut, which is approx. 1200 gr. This is available at auto supply stores. That is my first step for removing the oxides. Then simichrome paste. Then 4f pumice. Just some ideas.

Congrats again.

Brion

Ben,

congratulations on passing your performance test! Really like the overall look of the knife. Reminds me of one I seen used by a Filipino master.