Durability of hidden tangs, partial tangs and full tangs?

S

STEVENKIM

Joined
Nov 28, 2005
Messages
294
Hello, I am getting a custom knife made for hard usage and the maker was originally was going to make me a knife with a hidden tang where it would go 3/4 length of the handle. and secured with a mosaic pin. He is a very good maker and a man of his word. He said it would be suitable for everything.

However he did say he can make what tang I preferred.

My question to you all is, a hidden tang like the one I described above, is it just as durable as a full tang? Are my worries unfounded? Shall I just go with the flow on the maker? Do you have any experiences with hidden tangs going loose?
 
I think your worries are mostly unfounded. I personly prefer a full tang knife. Butt most makers secure their handles in such a way that will add a great deal of strength to the knife. when done right I would defie any one to get one to fail with out using a lever, pipe or something for additional leverage.
Leon Pugh
 
If a hidden, or mortised tang is done well, I don't think you'd have any problems from it. I myself prefer hidden tangs.
 
For hard use, I would want a full tang. You can't secure much with mosaic pins, which must be glued in place to avoid messing up the pattern. I would use solid pins-peened tight.
Bill
 
Unless you are pounding on the end of the handle, properly made tangs don't require full thickness/length to have more than enough strength/durability.

-Cliff
 
It all depends upon the handle material. Some handle material is very strong and would make for a very strong knife. Pins in a full tang knife can be significant stress risers that actually weaken the knife. If the tang is soft it will be stronger than one that is hardened.
I would ask the maker which would prove greater lateral strength and go with his recomendations.
 
Ed Fowler said:
If the tang is soft it will be stronger than one that is hardened.
Click to expand...

No it isn't. Soft tangs are much weaker than hard tangs just like soft blades are much weaker than hard blades. The reason that hard blades often fail on large knives like khukuris is that due to the way they are hardened it produced untempered martensite unlike the blade which auto-tempers due to the large heat sink from the unquenched material. However it isn't as if you took a blade like the Battle Mistress and annealed the tang it would be stronger no more than would the blade. Ref :

http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=55349

-Cliff
 
This should be fun! I don't recall ever seeing any "Cliff Stamp" knives.
Cliff, did anyone ever tell you that you are just plain annoying?
Bill
 
Lets keep it civil gentlemen. I appreciate the input and decided to go ahead with the hidden tang, he hasn't had a knife come back to him yet because of tang failure. He prefers hidden tangs as well and he has even hammered it with a sledgehammer to test it. Handle material is stablized maple burl.
 
Guys don't overcomplicate it, your both right under certain conditions, The point is either design properly done is a lot stronger than any human.

Leon
 
It's humorous to see Cliff lecturing Mr.Fowler (or myself for that matter) about blades.
If the tang is full length, but hidden, the handle should be plenty strong. Partial tangs are not as strong.
Bill
 
leon.pugh said:
The point is either design properly done is a lot stronger than any human.
Click to expand...

Yes, generally, I'd look more towards how the tang effects balance more so than the effect on strength because steel is much more dense than any handle material.

-Cliff
 
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