i have been using this thing for a couple years now and it's a great hunk of steel but a few things always bothered me ... first the handle was stubby and fat I have small hands but had trouble getting a comfortable 4 finger grip, I always felt the bulge at the end of the handle should be much smaller. If I used it for long periods I would get hand cramps and hot spot and the wood was kinda rough for my liking I don't have baby soft hands and I understand it needs some kind of traction but it was rough to the point of raw spot if I used it hard and it was hard for the hand to slide a little bit when chopping. Next what bothered me was the lack of a choir when I would choke up on the blade and put my finger into the gap between the blade and handle I would often slip my finger onto the blade. Lastly I wanted a sharpened spine for obvious reasons so what follows are some before and after pics ( the before pics are stock photos not my actual golok but it was identical)I'm so please with how this turned out I might get one of the cheap Bidors with the plastic handle and just make my own maybe in a different style blade ...