Attached is the figure of the knife and the oak handle material. I plan on using a mahogany hand guard at the base of the blade and then simply drill the handle and use two-part epoxy to secure the tang.
I figure on having to angle the tang (and the hole into the handle) slightly so the blade edge will be plum with the handle. Does that make sense?

As you can see, I have just finished the edge quenching and tempering process. I plan to attache the handle before finishing sanding and final shaping of the oak.

Comments welcome.

Edited February 16, 200917 yr by johnrgarland
additional info

I like your blade design! Can't wait to see it finished

Ditto. What Messerist said.

Per Wayne Goddards advice of this thick 'camp knife' style I will test the hardness / temper by hacking through a knot prior to adding the handle. Then I'll see if the edge is still sharp. If so, great. If not then I can quench the edge again and temper it in my toaster oven.
If I have to heat the blade up again I will straighten the tang too.
:)

Looks good, I like the blade design, don't see that too often.