Another Thanks for the great review... The hilt-part of the handle getting munched-up seems to be (maybe the only) damage that has occured to several peoples' knives... Do you think a conventional metal guard the same size and shape as the "hilt" face, between the handle and the blade, would protect the handle from damage? That seems to be the knife's only weak spot is the large guard. I wouldn't want to see the guard go away, though, because it's such a great handle design. Maybe it just needs some reinforcing? of course now that the release is impending, it's a little late to be making design suggestions... But i might consider making a guard of G10 or whatnot and affixing onto the front face of the handle - has anyone done anything in the direction of reinforcing the hilt/guard area of the Res-c? Just wondering... Thanks again, Sethro -- makes me long for its release that much more...