First tapered tang

Chiro75

Chiro75

Joined
Feb 4, 1999
Messages
5,786
No pics to show yet, but it was easier than I thought it would be, even on my Coote. I had some 1/2" thick pine from the last load of steel I bought (they tape the steel to the wood, you know) and so I cut a piece and taped it to my platen. Drilled the holes first, hollow ground the handle, then held the tang with Vice Grips and went to it. I didn't get it completely flat, but I left myself some cleanup room. Draw filed on the one side I have finished and it's getting there, but I think the better idea is just to switch to a different grit belt and finish it up on the platen.

The knife is my attempt at a Bushcraft knife, in 3/16" O1, and it was REALLY handle heavy. After doing the taper it has really nice balance, so I think I might be hooked on this for midsize knives.

One thing I don't get is how the tang holes are going to work. I drilled the holes before tapering. But, when I add scales, if I drill straight down, the bit will be angled in the hole in the tang, because of the taper. I guess if I break some bits tonight I might have to go back and read up on that again...
 
As long as you are thinning the front of the slabs to accomodate the tapered tang, then the holes should be straight on.
 
Burchtree said:
As long as you are thinning the front of the slabs to accomodate the tapered tang, then the holes should be straight on.
Click to expand...

yes if the out side of the scales are parallel to the blade center line.
or you can hold the blade on a parallel block and then the center line will be
flat (edited to add >and parallel) to your work table. just use a jack under the tang end while drilling to keep it rigid.. :)
 
yeah, what he said. :)

Now on with the pictures!!! :D
 
Put a .060 spacer between the end of the scale, where the thinnest part of the tang is, and the drill press table before drilling and color the epoxy the color of the handle when you glue it up.
If you forget the spacer and you drill the hole, dont worry about it. Unless you have 1/4" stock and you taper it down to .020" thickness at the end, the pins will still go in and everything will still fit fine.

Works for me.
 
Now you guys tell me. Thanks, Michael, I did what I normally do and it seems fine. It's is 3/16" stock and my taper isn't all that dramatic. I set the knife on the scale, flat, and just drilled normally and it cleared the holes in the tang just fine, and everything went together just fine, so I think I'm in good shape.

I should have some pics of it tomorrow, maybe. It's a "bushcraft" knife with a simple handle and a drop point. Convex blade, microbevel on the edge, tapered tang. Black canvas Micarta handles with aluminum pins and tubes. 3/16" O1, satin finished. Should be spiffy. If I was smart I would keep this one for myself because it feels really awesome, but I'm sure I'll sell it. Forgot to mark it and found out the hard way that my cheapo stamps won't work on hardened O1, so it's "sterile."

I'm very excited about this one. Unfortunately that's the end of my O1, so I need to get my hands on some more 3/16", although a knife this size may be better in 5/32" actually.
 
I found that having the tapered face flat is much more critical than the angle of the drilled hole. Use a straight edge and make sure each side is flat. If its not , pack to the flat platten and lightly grind untill it is. That will give you nice even glue lines.
 
Very good. I also use the Coote and taper all tangs unless asked not to. I have pyroceram on my flat platen and it raises the belt enough above the wheel to hold onto the blade tip. I use a small magnet to hold the tang portion. Getting and keeping the grind flat is done by periodically changing the position of the magnet on the tang. The area getting most downward pressure will grind more (that is where the magnet is at). Using a small level the tapered tang can be clamped level in the vise for drilling non-tapered handle scales.

RL
 
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