herisson
Apple slicing rocking chair dweller
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2013
- Messages
- 4,754
Well, it is the "best design" from some point of views : ease of manufacturing, sure, but also, yes, balance : a 4 / 5" blade might be well balanced with a full tang (why do a stick tang then add a heavy pommel to achieve this balance I'm fond of ?), and last but not least, customer demand : if the customer believes his knife will be stronger with a full tang, by all means give him a full tang. Everybody happy !I see the request for full tang construction all over the place and I feel that makers are making these because customers are asking for them not because this is the best design. I wanted to see if there are good reasons for such design and it seems there are from the ease of manufacturing stand point.
I do appreciate the added craftmanship and work that goes into a well done stick tang build. The stick tang is also appreciated by people using their knives outdoors in cold climates : the cold steel is unpleasant, or even painful, in the naked hand. Most traditional scandinavian, finnish or russian knives are stick tangs.
This said, I wouldn't dismiss a full tang knife as only a "fad". If a knife is well done, well balanced (my pet peeve), you should be happy with it.