The 8" blade is hand forged from a 1 1/2" thick scrap roller bearing consisting of 52100 high carbon steel***.  This blade is on the chunkier side, with a heavy 7/16" thick tang, tapering down to a 1/8' thick blade that has a distil taper that transitions to 30 thousandths of an inch thick near the very tip.  It has a very thin flat ground primary bevel, with an antiqued forced patina.  It is finished off with a very thin and sharp secondary bevel.  In a nut shell, this blade has heft to it without feeling overly heavy, and has the blade geometry to cut through most foods with very little resistence.
 
The handle is hand carved from figured maple into a Japanese "wa" style handle that has an octogon cross section for precise indexing and comfort (remincent of a tennis racket handle).   I submerged the wood in a thin hardenable resin, inside a vaccum chamber for serveral days to saturate the wood.  It is then baked at 200F to harden the resin.  This results in a wood that is harder, more durable, resists water, and will last much longer than untreated wood.  
 
***carbon steel knife care practices should be followed to keep it from rusting.