Knife balance point

Robert Erickson

Robert Erickson

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
Messages
2,865
There are really 2 questions that I have:
1: Where is the ideal balance point for the different types of knives that you make ie: Chef, paring, hunting, tactical...etc
2: Secondly how do you go about getting the balance point there? I know that tangs are skeletonized and tapered but most of the time the handle material isn't put on and shaped until later in the process. Plus different materials have different densities therefore 2 otherwise identical knives having different materials could have different balance points unless some adjustment is made. Do most of you completely shape your handle material before epoxy? Have you just done trial and error? Is this that big of a deal?
 
As someone who only makes chef knives, it varies. On most of my western chef knives, like French and german I like to put the balance point just barely forward of where the handle meets the blade. When I do japanese handles I put it about 3/4s of an inch in so when some one uses a pinch grip it is easy to manipulate. For balancing, i drill several holes for weight and epoxy and i use pretty heavy woods. I did come up with a trick im very proud of for moving the balance point back towards the handle on longer blades. I drill two large holes in all my tanges, often about 3/8th or larger. When i need to move the balance point back, I also drill this same diameter hole about an 8th of an inch into both insides of the scales, and fill this new chamber with a mix of epoxy and ground bismuth. Bismuth is the heaviest non radioactive element, its non toxic and heavy enough to balance out ant knife handle when you need it.
 
"tactical knife" is a broad term.

A classic fighter balances in front of the guard and has a light tip and tang for rapid change in rotation (used in a "knife fight", which is about as rare as a unicorn). This is the classic distal taper and tapered tang or hidden tang, like the ABS guys make. The balance (light on the ends) and grip ergonomics will snap cut for fast tip speed. It's light and lively and feels good in the hand.

A stabbing weapon (not a slashing weapon) that will resist deflection (stay on course) needs rotational inertia and may not have a tapered tang but might instead have a weighted guard and pommel. This is not for ballance in the sense of center of mass but to stay straight in a stab. Think Fairbairn-Sykes.

A modern tactical fighter needs to go through reinforced clothing, pry open a door and open a hole in a wall and shouldn't have a thin tip like an ABS style fighter or it may break at a bad time. But it shouldn't be a heavy prybar either, this is where engineering and metallurgy come into play.

Most tactical knives are simply utility tools, not fighters, and are just used to cut things. Most folks like a knife like that to be light and balance on the first finger. If the blade is light like a deep hollow ground Loveless hunter you might want a light tapered tang too. But if it has more meat in the blade than that you might not want a tapered tang or it may get tip heavy.

Choppers are tip heavy by design. This is done with blade width rather than blade thickness for cutting efficiency. In my opinion choppers should not have a tapered tang. That mass is out there for percussion and doesn't need to wreck your wrist to work. And mass in the tang, and a longer tang, adds rotational inertia to put additional power into the cut. Most people chop by swinging it in an arc with moderate rotation, not just snapping it, and some weight at the end of the tang adds power to the cut and reduces shock in the hand. So I guess this would depend a lot upon your chopping technique and personal preference.

To sum up, thinking about balance in terms of "balance point" might be an over simplification.
 
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Cool trick with the Bismuth Hellspawn! Where do you get your Bismuth?
Thanks Nathan, lots of good info there!
 
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