Drop point WIP

[James_Terrio]

... Sharp corners are where failures are born...

OK, I can understand that. As Vorpal said, "better safe than sorry."

I have seen 150#, solid steel, rotary paper-cutting dies fail catastrophically because of (seemingly) tiny stress risers. That makes for a long shift in the press-room.

Thank you for your advise; please share any other tips you may have about making knives as strong and tough as possible. (I know HT is a huge factor, but I'm asking about design features at the moment.)

Sorry for drifting your topic, Vorpal. I think your knife looks great!

 

[KenOnion]

Well I guess the question is more of a how much do you round or roll the corners of a tang for optimal strength. The answer is ..... It all depends on your materials ,steel construction, knife,design, H/T ,etc.....
I like to make sure I don't have any sharp transitions that could cause potential cracking .That said I also don't think there is a need to completely roll the corners either.I like to roll and smooth out lengthwise with a fine scotchbrite wheel . More or less just to break the edges a good bit. Also make sure you start with a fairly substantial tang. Some may differ however this is how I have been doing if for two decades and it has worked well for me . Plus with a bolster soldered in place, good fit between your tang and handle, really good epoxy to fill any voids and good quality rivets and the combination is quite tough. I wouldn't get to hung up on splitting hairs. I am a big fan of the Rabbett tang type construction on most fixed blades and feel they ad alot to a knife by minimizing weight and minimizing expansion /retraction issues that are sometimes problematic in full tang knives as well as personal preference reasons.
I know my response is all over the place but I hope I answered your question.