Ive been thinking about trying my first hidden tang knife and i was wondering how critical the pin is to the construction. I ask because ive seen knives with and without them. Does the pin make it THAT much stronger compared to just a good burn fitting with good epoxy? The knife im thinking about making is a 4-5 inch bushcraft knife that may be doing a little batoning.
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Hidden tang handle pins
- Thread starter Inthewind
- Start date
james terrio
Sharpest Knife in the Light Socket
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2010
- Messages
- 22,618
A handle held onto a hidden tang by epoxy alone could, possibly, maybe, someday between tomorrow morning and the end of time work loose and slip off.
A handle held onto a hidden tang only by a reasonably stout pin (1/8" stainless or brass rod works fine) will never, ever just slip off. The handle material itself will fall apart before the pin fails.
Use both.
A handle held onto a hidden tang only by a reasonably stout pin (1/8" stainless or brass rod works fine) will never, ever just slip off. The handle material itself will fall apart before the pin fails.
Use both.
Hengelo_77
Basic Member
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2006
- Messages
- 6,318
or use a screw/nut from behind to secure without a pin
Just cut a few grooves in the tang, stick it in a hole in the grip with Acraglas, and you would have to burn it off to remove it 50 years from now. Ask Randall Knives how many they have had come back with loose stag grips since they eliminated the cross pin.
- Joined
- May 6, 2009
- Messages
- 2,914
I screwed up the handle on a hidden tang that was secured with Acra-Glas only. The handle was wood and the wood actually split off in pieces and the thin slivers of wood next to the tang were still very much adhered to the tang. I wound up having to grind it off to get it cleaned up.
Been around the block with this.
Slotted tang and recesses in the slab isn't a solution, not in a working knife. I've had a few fail- not being familiar with AcraGlass, I would guess that it might make it a bit stronger.
What I do now with non-stainless kitchen knives is sand it clean, slot the tang, put a recess in the slab, and use a short piece of all thread, clean it all, and lock that all together with epoxy.
Oh, I also use Ospho to neutralize the steel- I don't know that it's the ideal solution, but seems to make for a good bond.
And that Devcon 2 hr stuff? Use it to fix a chair or something. Fast Loctite 2 part is my current go to.
Slotted tang and recesses in the slab isn't a solution, not in a working knife. I've had a few fail- not being familiar with AcraGlass, I would guess that it might make it a bit stronger.
What I do now with non-stainless kitchen knives is sand it clean, slot the tang, put a recess in the slab, and use a short piece of all thread, clean it all, and lock that all together with epoxy.
Oh, I also use Ospho to neutralize the steel- I don't know that it's the ideal solution, but seems to make for a good bond.
And that Devcon 2 hr stuff? Use it to fix a chair or something. Fast Loctite 2 part is my current go to.