Hard time with hidden tang

G

grumpy_grinder

Joined
Oct 2, 2015
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I'm having a hard time with this hidden tang ... I only have short drill bits , so I said I would do a two piece handle instead with a leather spacer between the two wood slabs. I'm just wondering if you guys think of this as unprofessional or would I be better off with a one piece handle in my situation. This is my first hidden tang ... Please be gentle. I've seen people use some sort of scrapper / digger to do the handles , I'd love to buy a set but I don't know what they are called.

Knife : brass blade guard , 2oz leather spacer , black spacer, moose bone , black spacer , wood handle , leather spacer , second part of wood handle and a peen a small pin through each wooden part handle.

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Do a search for a broach and you will find all sorts of information.

ETA: Use the custom search in the stickies.
 
My earliest knives had 2-piece handles for that same reason. I wouldn't put leather in there though, I don't see a reason that it would benefit you, and the different materials will probably not stay looking neat and tidy over time, even if you can get them flush at the start. Contrasting wood, or a G10 spacer might be better.

Pin through the rear part, not much need to do one in the front part.

The rake tool you mention is a broach. You can make one yourself. I did and wish I did so sooner. Works much better than gluing jig saw blades into a handle.

If you shop for drills, there are long series drills, but the best are pen drills, used by folk who make fancy fountain pen bodies. Ground specially for drilling end grain of hard wood.
 
C_Claycomb said:
My earliest knives had 2-piece handles for that same reason. I wouldn't put leather in there though, I don't see a reason that it would benefit you, and the different materials will probably not stay looking neat and tidy over time, even if you can get them flush at the start. Contrasting wood, or a G10 spacer might be better.

Pin through the rear part, not much need to do one in the front part.

The rake tool you mention is a broach. You can make one yourself. I did and wish I did so sooner. Works much better than gluing jig saw blades into a handle.

If you shop for drills, there are long series drills, but the best are pen drills, used by folk who make fancy fountain pen bodies. Ground specially for drilling end grain of hard wood.
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thank you , i figured i would use leather as a transition piece since the grain of the wood will not match
 
Karl B. Andersen said:
Go buy a longer drill bit.
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👍 That's what I think. Never compromise your Build just becaus your held back by somthing like to short of a drill bit. I think running to the store and picking up a longer one will be much faster then doing 2 section handle. I'm not saying 2 section handles are a compromise at all, thy can be very purdy. If you where wanting a full handle then do it. And yes I think leather would not be the greatest idea in that it's a completely different material and will wear different and pick up dirt. If it was another chunk of wood that was darker with some fiber spacer material on each side or maybe copper with spacer material that can look nice.
 
JTknives said:
👍 That's what I think. Never compromise your Build just becaus your held back by somthing like to short of a drill bit. I think running to the store and picking up a longer one will be much faster then doing 2 section handle. I'm not saying 2 section handles are a compromise at all, thy can be very purdy. If you where wanting a full handle then do it. And yes I think leather would not be the greatest idea in that it's a completely different material and will wear different and pick up dirt. If it was another chunk of wood that was darker with some fiber spacer material on each side or maybe copper with spacer material that can look nice.
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If only there was a store I could get long bits here! thanks i have a bit of g10 laying around , i'll use that instead with different wood for the top section.
 
I have used a carbide tipped cement drill bit they aren't to costly and easy to find
 
GG,

As these folks said, there are many ways to make broaches. In time you will end up with a handful of them in different sizes, shapes, widths etc. There are also many ways to make handles. Your solution of making a three piece handle is fine and your way will work with shorter length drills. Another method which also uses three pieces is a frame handle, like a side-to-side sandwich handle. Instead of cutting the handle material across the tang you can cut it along the tang. If you were making a full tang knife you would form the tang in the shape you wanted the handle to be then add the scales to the sides. A frame handle works the same except that the full tang part is replaced by a center piece of handle material to which the scales are attached. This way, you just cut out the shape of your hidden tang from a center piece which is the same width as your stick tang with whatever tools you have. Then add scales to the sides.
 
Just take a piece of drill rod and hard solder to the drill bit. You can do this in a piece of say 1 1/4" angle iron with a small section at the "V"cut out.
Frank
 
I have a knife maker friend who loves to take two pieces of wood or split a nice piece and finely sand each side and route out the tang to accept the blade and epoxy the handle together. The line where they join is almost invisible when it's done when he starts with one piece of wood. I have not done this but his knives are very nice looking and well finished. With pins and g-flex epoxy i'm sure they are strong as well. Larry
 
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