I've had this blade profiled, ground, heat treated and a hand sanded to a satin finish in the shop for a while but just now go around to finishing it out.
CPM154 stainless blade with some vine pattern filework on the spine. Heat treated and tempered to HRC 60. Scales are stabilized English Walnut with some spalt lines that adds some nice pattern. Mosaic pins and a stainless lanyard tube. 8 1/4" overall and 3 13/16" tip to scales.
I did the sheath with a stainless clip so that it can be worn on a belt, carried on a pocket, a boot or even clipped to a back pack.

Real nice

Why heat treat stainless?

Like most other steels, stainless is pretty soft as it comes from the mill and certainly wouldn't hold an edge so heat treating hardens it to a hardness that will hold an edge. You can actually get it to hard and then it becomes brittle.

Good to know, I was mistakenly under the impression that stainless was hard already.

Some are and some aren't, there are countless types and variations of stainless depending on their intended use.

how do I test the hardness of the piece I've been tinkering with?

If you know anyone who has access to a machine shop, I'm sure that they can get it checked for you.
This is what I use in my shop.

Is this knife for sale?

It's already sold but thanks for asking.

Gut, skin, and quarter a whole deer with that knife. Stellar work as always Mike.

Looks like a quality job

Nice

awesome piece of art.

Yes sir.... 2x