Hidden tang alignment?

weo

weo

Joined
Sep 21, 2014
Messages
3,111
Hello all. I hope the spring and weekend is treating you and you Mothers well.

On kitchen knives is there a standard alignment of the tang and the rest of the blade? Does the tang line up with the spine? Does it line up with a line from the center of the bolster/ricasso to the tip? Something else?

Does it depend on the style of knife?

Thank you.
 
On Japanese knives, the tang is usually even with the spine. The handle usually projects above and below the tang.
On Western knives, the tang is usually stepped down from the spine, and up from the ricasso bottom (as shown in the above images). This allows the handle to end up centered between the spine and bottom of the ricasso (or close to it).
 
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Thanks all.
Just to clarify for me, it's in general aligned with the spine then.
 
No, it is aligned with the handle center. The placement is what I was talking about in my last post. If the handle drops or curves, a hidden tang is shaped and aligned so it goes down the center of the handle. That is why sketching it on the outside of the handle block as seen in the photo is a good idea. It helps in drilling to get the tang hole properly placed.
 
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