Jim, those knives are gorgeous. I'm no expert either, but that might be California Buckeye burl on that first handle. Really sweet. The first knife in that set of three is a stunner as well. Do you know who did the scrim of the Gyrfalcon on the handle? I love the way the artist used the natural colors in the handle to represent the cliff the bird is sitting on. Some people have such amazing imagination and talent.