buttcap and handle hole?

[mattd]

For a hidden tang knife, is the hole for the handle material done with a drill? is the gap between the handle and the tang filled with glue? Does the buttcap have to be screwed on to the tang? Lots of questions but haven't found a tutorial to help me yet. Thanks Matt

 

[Mike Hull]

If it's to be a one piece wood handle, I would say yes to all. The end of the tang can be rounded on the belt grinder, then threaded. It doesn't have to be perfectly round. A blind hole in the pommel material is all that you need for that. Use a bottoming tap for the pommel.

If you want to do a mortised tang, check the link.
http://www.primosknives.com/articles/mortised_tangs/mortised_tangs_1.htm

 

[Daniel Koster]

There's an article about this in a recent Blade magazine by Wayne Goddard - who I think has gone off the deep end this time... Anyway, I'll look for it. I might be able to scan it.

Basically, you can do it any way you want! Personally, I prefer a buttcap to "float" independant of a wood handle, since wood "moves" and steel doesn't. I have found that the more I try to "control" wood handles, the more they crack. So, I keep the pins up close to the ferrule/guard on a hidden tang, and I use hidden pins on a full tang.

Dan

 

[John Andrews]

What those gentlemen say is true.I use hidden pins on 99% of my buttcaps. I've used the screw on tang type,also. AND I use the ol' Arca Glas gel for the tang and buttcap, and hidden pins for most handles.

 

[Raymond Richard]

Now are you talking threw tang or sub tang. Guess there both hidden. If you talking threw tangs there's a number of different ways to go about it. One is to drill the butt cap about 3/4 of the way threw and tap it and then thread it onto the tang. Also you can drill all the way threw the butt cap and peen the end of the tang onto the cap. The way I do it is drill all the way threw the cap and use one of my homemade nuts on it. I also counter sink the nut into the cap.

On a sub tang you can either drill and then solder a screw or someother type of stud to the cap. Drill the handle where the stud goes and then where you drilled the hold ream it out bigger than the hole is in the surface so the epoxy will lock itself in the hole, just pretend your a dentist.

Hope this makes sense to you....

 

[mattd]

Wow, thanks guys! I was thinking of sodering a guard, drilling a hole in the handle material and gluing it on and then screwing the butt cap on using tap and dye. Dry fitting everything first. After I fit everthing tight, I was thinking I would grind erverything to shape. I thought I would put some JB Weld on the threads so it can't be unscrewed or come loose. I would also like to try the mortised tank method.

matt deClercq