I haven't bought a custom from Michael yet, but I have tried quite a few, I found the handles on the smaller side, when I get to the top of his custom list I will ask for a slightly larger handle, but that depends on your preferences, I have tried mono 52100, 1084 and W2, the HT was great on all, my personal favourite was the W2 the Harmon & alloy banding made for a very nice looking blade.