Hidden tang, intentionally sloppy fit for more glue?

sogflash

sogflash

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Aug 28, 2011
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I'm making a hidden tang knife and it has a pretty tight fit, but I'm wondering if I should expand the cavity a little bit more to get more epoxy around the tang. Is this a stupid idea? Should I just keep it tight?
I'm going to roughen up the tang a bit with a dremel cut off disc to give the epoxy more to hold on to.

How short can the tang be before you risk the knife falling apart? I guess it depends on several factors and is hard to answer, but I'd like to hear how short you think it can be and still be confident it wont cause any problems. Lets say for knives with about a 4 inch blade.
 
The tang should go at least half way in the handle. Also, the tang should be at least half the blade length.
The fit should be anywhere from snug to just a tad loose. As you said, the resin will fill the void. However, you don't want a sloppy fit. Most of us shoot for a snug fit with very little slop.
 
Me, too, Lorien. I like a tight fit. I use the edge of the belt between the top of the platen and the grinder's contact wheel to cut slots into the corners of the tang, as well as a few holes drilled.
 
Some people do that. I've never really seen a point, i make it fit properly. I figure if it wedges together pretty solidly without glue it'll hold with glue. Though if you go too tight you risk cracking things...
For most of the knives i make i go for at least a 60-70mm tang. I want the tang under where the user will be applying force when using the knife. For cleavers i run the tang the entire length of the handle. The actual handle material is there to provide a more comfortable grip

The only ones i have had break are where the tang was too short, there were voids in the glue, or in one case where i was expecting burl to have any strength what so ever
 
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