Full tang/hidden tang discussion

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I have knives that use either full or hidden tang construction. I even have a few Bark Rivers that are full, but skeletonized tangs that feel more lively than if there were just a couple of holes drilled into the tang.

Here is the discussion. I have never had a stick tang knife that has broken, especially in a design like a puukko. I have bent a Ka-Bar, but I also was able to bend it back to true and it has stayed there since.

Are full tang constructed knives more marketing than necessity? If one treats a knife as a knife rather than as a prybar, a shovel, or a piton, it seems that a well designed stick tang will be up to any cutting task thrown at it and at least have the benefit, in cold climates, of not having exposed steel in the handle.
 
When you consider all the stick tang knives and swords used down through the ages - and that they've been the standard in most places and most times - it appears that perhaps full tang is not truly a necessity for a knife.

I'm sure it makes a big difference for a prybar though! :D
 
Some stick tangs are very, very small, and some are cut at right angles where they pass through the guard or enter the handle. Size matters, especially when used on knives with large blades. The problem is that it's difficult or impossibe to tell - until it bends or breaks. The best solutuion is a full exposed tapered tang which is found mostly on customs and otherwise increases cost. Then the issue becomes how well the scales are attached, but that's another story. So, if one can tell the size of the hidden tang and it is large enough, machined correctly, and properly annealed, to take reasonable abuse from the given blade size, all is OK. I believe this is one reason the tests are so popular on this and other forums. One must trust the maker or or be able to verify all these things to be confident. Regards,ss.
 
Most of my fiixed blade are full tang knives. I love them, I feel confident when I hold a full tang knife.

But I have noticed that Randall made knife is seldom full tang. (the only Randall made I own is no.26 )

The aborigines of Taiwan use hidden tang knives, too. They say, give him some salt and a knife, he can live in the forest high in the mountain for months. (I think, it depend on how much salt he got.) They use hidden tang knives for thousands of years, so far looks find.

Here is the only knife of Taiwanese aborigines in my correction...

P1040616-1.jpg

P1040619-1.jpg

P1040617-1.jpg


The tang's stick looks really small, but this knife is forged by a master of Taiwanese aborigines knife maker, so I think it is just find.

(Hope you can unstand my English...:o )
 
For cutting and light chopping a properly made stick tang has all the strength it will ever need. If you pry or baton it may hold up or it may not, depending on how well it is made and how aggressive your technique. Which one is right for you depends entirely on how you will use it, as usual.

All things being equal, a full tang will always be stronger. You simply cannot replace steel with wood and see a gain in strength.
 
Demon said:
Most of my fiixed blade are full tang knives. I love them, I feel confident when I hold a full tang knife.

But I have noticed that Randall made knife is seldom full tang. (the only Randall made I own is no.26 )

The aborigines of Taiwan use hidden tang knives, too. They say, give him some salt and a knife, he can live in the forest high in the mountain for months. (I think, it depend on how much salt he got.) They use hidden tang knives for thousands of years, so far looks find.

Here is the only knife of Taiwanese aborigines in my correction...





The tang's stick looks really small, but this knife is forged by a master of Taiwanese aborigines knife maker, so I think it is just find.

(Hope you can unstand my English...:o )
Click to expand...

Your English is just fine. Way better than my Chinese and better than some posts from the US.

Beautiful blades. Thanks for sharing.
 
If one treats a knife as a knife rather than as a prybar, a shovel, or a piton, it seems that a well designed stick tang will be up to any cutting task thrown at it and at least have the benefit, in cold climates, of not having exposed steel in the handle.
Click to expand...

Give that man a cigar :D

Prying, digging, chopping with knives is.... uh..... reserved for a RLSS®.....yeah, that's it :D
 
Think about kukri's, they have stick tangs, and take a massive amount of beating. Personally, I beat the crap out of my Mora, ka-bar heck my buck 192, never had even a crack, bend or dent in any of them.
 
I think there are lot of reason why we choose full or hidden tang. For me, i prefer full tang because of the srength and it holds las longer the handle. But hidden tang also has a benefit, one of them is the weight that will focus in front of the blade, which is give the more effect when we do hit/impact the object.
 
Full or a hidden/stick/rat-tail tang all comes down to where you'll use the knife, and what you're gonna be doing with it!
If you're looking for a general slicer for the small tasks, a hidden tang is more than strong enough! If on the other hand you want to baton the hell out of tree's and so forth, i recommend a full tang just for the added strength and the extra reassurance the knife gives you in hand when performing these tasks.
Climate also has an effect on the tang you want...during cold climates, so North America, Scandinavia, you'll see that most knives are of a hidden tang construction! If these knives at an exposed tang, the cold climate would cause the steel to stick to hand! Yes, you can wear gloves to sort this issue, but not everyone does!

Those are the 2 main factors that affect which tang to get in my opinion, climate and strength! Correct me if im wrong, here to learn from others and help others at the same time!

Tristan
 
Considering full size swords have stick tangs, its tough to make the claim that rough use knives should have a full tang. I prefer full tang knives, but its not for strength reasons.
 
I think the idea of a full tang (especially an exposed tang) is just built into our perception of sturdy construction. We want to see that it's there, as some assurance that a given knife is as "heavy duty" as it can possibly be. But for real world, knife-appropriate tasks, a hidden tang sure hasn't caused a problem for me, and knowing a knife has a stick tang doesn't compel me to leave it behind.
 
Nordic knives, esp puukko, have used stick tangs for centuries with no problems. I've carried/used Finnish puukko for years for every thing possible with no problems.
Rich
 
I just realized that all of my kitchen knives are full tang. All of my outdoors knives are stick or hidden tang. I guess I expect dinner to be more extreme than camping. :D
 
So long as the hidden tang knife is designed and built properly, it should be plenty strong for any knife chore.

Even full tang knives break when people do something stupid enough with/to them.

I prefer a full tang for any sort of a lolsurvival knife, but for general cutting and camp chores a stick tang has worked fine for me. Blackjack knives are a fantastic place to start, for anyone interested in getting over their irrational fear of hidden tang knives.
 
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