Well, the blade is 8 1/2 " and the handle is just a hair under 4 3/4", overall 13 1/4" . I am not sure what steel James uses but it has got and holds one heck of an edge. I do make sheaths but this one came with the knife. Rick, I tried something a little different on this one. I penciled in my layout and then sprayed it with hairspray. After doing my engraving I only had a few places where the ink was a problem. I'm not sure how it would work with the wax and my drawing but I will probably give it a try.
thank you all for the kind words.
Ron