The detail that caught me off guard is the star emblem carved into the base of the antler handle. A rotary tool was used to carve it, and on a handle that already has a weathered look, that little touch does a lot of work. It is the kind of thing most people would skip, and it makes the whole piece feel finished.
The blade started life as a profile marked out with a ruler and marker, then cut on a band saw. A belt sander and hand files cleaned up the shape after that, and the bevels came off an angle grinder. The steel is 1095 high carbon, which for a Bowie-style blade with a wide profile seems like a solid pick in my view. Heat treating was done in a small forge heated by propane torches, followed by an oil quench and a temper in an oven. That is a proper sequence for this steel, and seeing it done with such a compact setup is encouraging for anyone working in a tight shop.
The handle side got plenty of attention too. The deer horn was filed to shape and drilled for the tang, and the blade was test-fitted to check alignment before anything was committed. The brass guard was cut, slotted, and sanded smooth, and a separate brass strip was heated and bent into a collar for the top of the handle. A pin runs through the collar and handle to secure everything to the blade. Polished brass against stag antler is a classic pairing, and the contrast in the finished piece looks strong.
One open point: the epoxy that went inside the handle was confirmed by the maker but never shown being done. I would be curious about how much was used and how it was worked in around the pin.
Project by Jumbo Radish. Watch it on their YouTube channel: