You have done a lot of work on that bar of steel you started with. The work so far seems to be coming out as you planned it. Darren Sanders would be a good person to do the HT, unless you connect with a local Florida maker who might invite you over to his shop to do the HT.
Some suggestions for this and future projects:
You are using only rudimentary tools. That's OK, but two are really poor for knives - the bench grinder and the Dremel. Bench grinders should only be used to profile the shape, and Dremels only used to smooth out edges and inside cuts ( like in your handle cut-out). All the other tasks are best done with files and sandpaper until you get a belt grinder. Use a block of wood to back the sandpaper. Don't just fold it up and use your fingers.
The plunge line is not a necessity for the knife to cut well, but is a good thing to learn to do. It can be subtly rounded, curved, or sharply straight....but it should be there to some degree. It not only makes the blade look cleaner, it delineated where the angled blade edge ends and where the flat ricasso and handle start. If you just sand the blade bevels into the handle, the front of any scales will often not sit flush. This won't matter in the paracord handle you plan on making here, but is a flaw in a knife with scales. All of this aids in clean and flat lines. The next two suggestions are part of this "clean look".
Try and make the bevels as flat as possible. The knife now has slightly rounded "convex" bevels. It will cut fine, and look OK, but the difference in a dead flat bevel will be a big increase in the looks department. It will also cut slightly better. There are knives where a convex bevel are desirable, but a small blade like this looks and works best with flat bevels. Also, the current blade still has a lot of sanding to go before HT. It should be at 400 grit and totally smooth. There should be no file or grinding marks left. If they aren't gone before HT, they will never be gone. After HT, you go back to 220 grit and start over, sanding the entire blade smooth, and going up the grits to whatever finish you want. Most stop at around 800-1000 grit, but you can go as high as you wish.
While that dip in the top has a purpose in your plan, it is not aesthetically pleasing. Making the top a continuous curve from butt to tip will be much easier on the eye. Try tracing this blade, and then erasing the dip out and making it a smooth curve.....how does that look? Remember, your thumb will sit on whatever surface is there...it does not need a hollow spot. If you wish some traction, file work the top of the spine. This will add to the looks, too.
If you are going to use paracord for the handle wrap, that is fine. However, the edges of the tang should be slightly rounded, or filed at 45° bevels to knock off the sharp edge. You can carry that effect down the spine to the tip for a look of continuity.
Plan the paracord wrap well. Don't just loop a length around the handle and call it a knife. You will have spent too much time working on this knife to have it look cheap and sloppy because you were in a hurry to put on the paracord. There are tons of paracord wrap tutorials online that will help you make a great handle. Finish with a 3-4" tail lanyard ending in a little woggle knot or bead on the end. That makes the knife easy to pull out of a full pouch sheath ( which you should also make for the knife). If there is a bad spot in the wrap, or you don't totally like it, just take it off and use a new piece of cord to try again. If it takes ten tries and 50 feet of paracord - so what. It will end in a really nice looking handle.
Once the wrap is done, and you have decided you like it. Use some thin and clear epoxy resin ( clear coat or bar top) and a small brush to paint the cord with just enough resin to soak in. It takes very little. Wrap a lint free cotton rag around the handle and give it a squeeze to remove any excess resin. The cord may not look like there is any resin on/in it, but when the resin cures, the cord will be rock solid. Use acetone to wipe away any place where the resin gets on the blade. Put the blade in a vise or clamp with the handle sticking out while the resin cures. Turn the blade every few minutes to prevent any epoxy from pooling or dripping. Wipe/blot off any drips while still runny, but don't touch it after the resin starts to gel. Experiment on some scarp cord wrapped around a bar of steel to get this down right before doing the actual handle.
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