I'm not real happy with this, but I did learn some things while taking it. Namely that fill flash works best for close ups indoors, and that f-stops 4.5 and 5.6 take the cleanest shots. My Nikon was set to A mode. The only thing I did in PP was correct the white balance. I don't know why I can't get closer shots with my setup. Any suggestions? I think I need to get in closer physically. I was about 3" away. That's about 2" of knife, btw.
Nice shot! I really like the texture in the damscus forging! Try going to a smaller aperature to increase your depth of field, like f13 or f16. That should help get the upper portion of the blade more in focus.
