First "knife" completed

[onebagnomad]

Just finished up my first real attempt at a knife last night. Pics to come at some point when I figure out what is wrong with my camera. Learned from my mistakes (many) and now have questions I didn't know to ask before. I did most of my profiling with a hacksaw and alot of the shaping/bevels with files. It was going well until I got tired of filing and ended up obliterating most of the work I had done with a cheap belt sander I had laying around, rigged upside-down in the on position (I know, I know). Heat treated with a couple of propane torches and wasn't able to get the entire knife to temp. I settled for just the blade, leaving the tang alone. Is this considered a bad practice? I know it's not a good practice, but is it considered acceptable? Will this have any significant effect on the knife during use?

 

[hellgap]

no you dont have to heat it in the handle area as long as the blade reaches the proper temp it should work fine. show some pictures.