Finger one subsequently cut handling tip of dagger (5)
I believe the answer is:
index
'finger' is the definition.
(index finger is a kind of finger)
'one subsequently cut handling tip of dagger' is the wordplay.
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'subsequently' becomes 'next' (I've seen this in another clue).
'cut' means to remove the last letter.
'handling' indicates putting letters inside.
'tip of dagger' becomes 'd' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'next' with its final letter taken off is 'nex'.
'nex' enclosing 'd' is 'ndex'.
'i'+'ndex'='INDEX'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for index that I've seen before include "that may be on the cards?" , "Alphabetica listing" , "Table of book's contents" , "Look-up list in book" , "List of topics etc" .)