You came to the right place
Requesting a critique like you did is the correct thing to do so keep that up !
1st. Let's see some more pics.
-Other side of the blade
-spine view
-edge view
-Basically pics from all sides and varying angles will help ALOT
Sheath too.
-Close-up's of anything you think may possibly be an issue or have questions about.
Sometimes I may take 20 or 30 pics to get 5 or 6 worth posting. Nature of the beast for us non-professional photographers
It's very difficult to get a good read on the blade due to glare. Looks like a convexed edge ? Maybe a clip ?
A little about knife design in general-
1. There are no RULES
2. There's ALOT of genaralities that make-up a good design that's functional AND pleasing to the eye.
It's rare for a handle design to work well if it gets thinner as it goes towards towards the butt end. Can it be done ? yes. Just rare for it to look pleasing.
With a few exceptions a knife will nearly always benefit from a little drop in the handle from the center to the butt end. Daggers and dedicated fighters would be common exceptions.
I'll guestimate that your handle feels great in the hand and is functional but with some tweaking it could be those and more attractive too. Thickening up the back section between the center pin and butt so it's slightly taller than the front section and adding a touch of drop to the rear would be a great improvement IMHO
Could just be the pic but the forementioned things make it very tough to get really nice pin placement with good flow
Pretty much any knife with plunge lines needs a bit of ricasso (area between the plunge and scales) Roughly guessing I'd go with something like 1/4" to 3/8" between the plunge and scales on knife that size.
Looks like you got a touch of a dark halo on the back pin. This is caused by too much heat on the pin while shaping the handle and it actually scortches the wood around the pin. The solution to this is to go slow and use a sharp belt. Grind a pass and check the pin for heat. grind and check grind and check. When it's warm to the touch stop and let it cool down. Another thing that can be helpful is to file it close to shape with a rough file so it only take a lick or two with the grinder to clean it up.
In knifemaking ALL things are subjective so others may have a totally different opinion than me on any of these points so take what you like and discard the rest
Here's some reference on design for you to peruse-
http://www.americanbladesmith.com/u... Class/Fisk-Knife Construction and Design.pdf
http://www.americanbladesmith.com/u...ster Class/Petersen-Knife Design Concepts.pdf
I gotta run right now but get some more pics so we can talk about it some more.
Take care - Josh