Fantastic hand crafted knife with fancy Manzanita burl handle and Damascus Japanese steel blade. Manzanita wood often has minor natural crackings, and I've taken advantage of this by inlaying crushed natural Turquoise into the cracks, simultaneously fixing them. The wood is not dyed or treated in any way. It's just finished with an old world oiling that brings out the beauty of the wood. I've included a picture of one of the Manzanita burls so you can see what the wood looks like in the raw. This knife is unique and one of a kind, made by me (the handle, not the blade). The blades on my knives come from various blacksmiths that I've partnered with. They are very sharp and heavy, with lots of steel. Ordinarily, that poses a problem for most knife makers, because their handles are light and unsubstantial. But with this knife, the weight of the handle counterbalances the weight of the heavy blade so that the center point of the balance is near where the handle meets the blade. So even though this knife is heavy, is wields wonderfully in the hand because of the balance. One of my customers who has bought multiple knives from me described my knives as "truly a joy to use."