The balance point on the S grind Western blade is about 1" forward (will be a little further out on a heavy chef's). The handle is a hidden-tang, and there is a radius on the brass piece, to minimize feel of the natural wood movement. The handle is fully sealed and securely attached to the blade. It should last the life of the knife.
I would call this blade a workhorse, as there is plenty of steel on the spine to give a good rigidity and weight, even though the knife is very thin above the edge. The edge is serviceable along the whole lengh (thickness above the edge at 10mm or so is comparable along the whole lengh from the tip to the heel).
M
PS: I have been making oversize wa handles for larger knives, these will be ones to modify if necessary. I am going to take another look at those. I might come up with a tweak, or maybe some sort of modification to the handle and offer it as an option. The extra length gets in a way of a tip work on a large knife.