This is my second one of these, as soon as my Uncle put mine in his hand he asked me where did you purchase this one, as I collect knives. I told him I would order him one, as he's old school and does'nt have a computer. His came to my house yesterday, and I gave it to him today. This is an extremely well made knife, and the wood is beautiful. When I buy a knife with a wooden handle the first thing I do is give it 2 coats of clear Polyurethane wood protection on the handle, and then the handle is nice and shiny, and is really hard to scratch. The wood will not stain or lose its color period. As for the steel ,this knife is very sharp out of the box, but I give all the knives I buy an edge you can shave with. This one was very easy to sharpen. If I could give this one a ten I would, and it will compare to some of my higher priced big brand name knives. Don't but 1 get 2, you'll be glad you did. Thanks greatofferstock.com for another great purchase.