The detail that surprised me most is the ring pommel. The maker cut that finger hole with a 7/8 bi-metal hole saw bit, and getting a clean round opening through bar stock that way takes real patience at the drill press.
The layout starts with a blue template set onto steel bar stock, then the profile comes off a vertical bandsaw. Holes for the handle, the skeletonizing, and the ring pommel all go in on a drill press before the blank's perimeter gets refined. Spine jimping is cut with a belt grinder running platen and small-wheel attachments, and a guide clamp is secured before the primary bevel cuts are ground.
The heat treat is where this build gets serious for me. The blade goes into a tabletop VEVOR gas forge, the temperature gets checked with an infrared thermometer, and the reheat lands around 1497 °F. The round CCB maker's mark is hot-stamped on the anvil, then the blade quenches in an oil tank and tempers in an oven set to 400 °F.
The handle stacks two-piece composite scales with textured antler, liners, and green resin, all epoxied and clamped in a jig to cure. Finishing the bevels after hardening seems like the slow road to me, but sparks flying and clean steel showing at the end look like a fair payoff.