In addition to my English, German and Dutch heritage, I am proud to claim a wee bit of Scot-Irish blood in me veins...not enough to put a tilt in me kilt, but at 73 not many things would.
By the way, regarding the statement "The blade is polished steel. I wanted to use Damascus , but the blades were a bit too spendy for a first attempt", if that is your first attempt, you need to recognize that you are a fine craftsman...so you need to "go big" if you ever do it again.