My older brother and I attended a knife making workshop at Kowhai Forge in South Waikato. There were seven students and we got to choose our style of knife. My brother and I choose this hunting/woods style knife while everyone else selected a kitchen knife. My brother wanted a longer blade while I wanted a short blade.
We started with a flat piece of steel which the master blacksmith started the initial shape. We had to forge out the shape of the handle and blade plus curve the spine. We also did all the grinding, heat treatment, quenching and handle making. The blacksmith checked our work, added the distal taper and did the edge.
I'm very happy with the result. Of course, with more time, I could have a nicer finish but this knife fits my hand really well. I will need to make a sheath and this could become my belt knife of choice if I'm also carrying a machete or axe. This knife style generally has a fat belly for skinning animals, but I gave mine more of a point because I do more wood work.
I'm thinking of going back to made a trade/north American style tomahawk.