Kurki full tang... Why not?...tradition?...ease of mfg?

[saltydog452]

Title pretty much nailed it. You'd think that a blade occasionally used as a belt ax with a point would be a full tang. Just wondering why not? What do you think?

 

[gregorio]

This is a full tang. Muela made knives of spain, I bought it the last time I was there.

 

[SilentJohn]

mine is full tang, custom khukri from Dragon Forge, hand made in USA! this beast is named "THE BOSS" and it powers through wood

 

[OrdnanceBubbaUSMC]

Probably has to do with combo task of preserving both metal and weight forward balance

 

[TwinStick]

My Ontario is a full tang. It just not a full width full tang. Made in America. VVV

While not a true Kukri, the BK-4 Machax is a full width full tang. Made in America. VVV

The KaBar Kukri is also full tang, just not full width full tang. Made in Taiwan. VVV

 

[brets-ftw]

I have a traditional stick tang and a full tang, the full tang is a little bit more solid, but the stick tang has 50+yrs on it.

 

[Franciscomv]

Khukuri House offers quite a few full tang models made in Nepal. I've got a couple and I'm thrilled with them, outstanding choppers.

http://www.thekhukurihouse.com/

 

[Maniacal Pete]

Himalayan Imports (they have a subforum here), makes great Kukris with both full-tang (chiruwa) and stick tang.
Weight can be a factor when choosing a kukri, so depending on what you are planning to use it for
you may or may not want a full tang.

I think this litte bugger is around 12" and it has a full tang.
It's a true sharpened prybar.

 

[Karda]

It really depends on what brand of khukuri you are talking about. Traditional Khukuri manufacturers will offer both, due to tradition.
Modern manfacturers producing KLO's will usually only offer hidden tang due to ease of manufacture.

Thank you Pete.
Yes, Himalayan Imports offers both Full (Chiruwa) Tang and hidden Tang models with the best warranty and customer service in the industry.

 

[JayGoliath]

The Nepalese will prefer partial tang. I prefer stick tang as my sweaty palms and the high humidity of my country could fasten the rust on a full tang model.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

I've never managed to break any khuk tang from work alone. Modern production with polymer handles, chiruwa/full/slab tang models from HI, Through tang peened models, etc. I've never even managed work the tang loose on my partial tang khuks with a pin holding them in place.

The long and the short of it is that most westerners simply don't have a lifestyle that would really affect the overall lifespan of a traditionally made khuk. Most khuks made the villages of Nepal for local use are partial tang and only held in the handle by a combination of natural epoxy and burning the tang in. About every 5-10 years, it might start to work a little loose after heavy use 7 days a week. The village kami can refurbish it for a nominal fee. After about a generation of use, the blade might need a whole new handle fitted to it. Hell, the blade might even need a new heat treat

Those full tang khuks are going to be going strong in your children's children's children's hands. I prefer a peened tang for a mixture of comfort and piece of mind.

 

[Dorito Monk]

I ended up ordering my first Kukri the other day - a full tang model from KH.

I bought it more because I liked the looks of it than because I think I need a full-tang for my extreme hardcore emergency EDC use or whatever.

 

[chiral.grolim]

Title pretty much nailed it. You'd think that a blade occasionally used as a belt ax with a point would be a full tang. Just wondering why not? What do you think?

Am I the only one amused by the reference to a "belt axe"? The majority of axes are constructed of two separate pieces: axe head and axe handle, usually wood. THERE IS NO TANG remaining on the axe-head, no metal in the handle whatsoever. Do you think it odd that most belt-axes are not only not "full tang" but lack a tang entirely??


Point 2, terminology: "full tang" means that the tang (or tongue) of stock material from which the blade is fashioned extends the "full length" of the handle as a contiguous piece. It does NOT mean that the tang expands the full, exposed, final width of the handle. Were this the case, any "full tang" handle wrapped in another material (e.g. tape, rubber, cordage) that conceals the tang and widens the handle would suddenly cease to be "full tang". "Full tang" also does not mean that the tang needs to be visible at the pommel or extend into the pommel whatsoever. Such are considered "extended tang". "Hidden tang" and "stick tang" do NOT exclude "full tang". "Hidden tang" means that the tang is concealed within the handle material. "Stick tang" means that the tang has a "stick" appearance, thin. Most Medieval European swords are full, hidden, stick tang. "Full tang" does not mean that the tang is un-skeletonized or un-tapered (in any direction), other common mechanisms of reducing tang material. The Izula is full tang even though the tang is milled out and most users wrap the handle. Randalls are full tang. Most of Bob Loveless' knives are full tang even though the tang is tapered to a fraction of stock thickness. Most bowie-style blades have blades wider than their tangs - narrowness has no bearing on the matter. Screw-drivers, prybars, chisels, etc. all commonly have tangs extending the full length of the handle but reaching nowhere near other handle dimensions.

This confusion over "full tang" is similar to the confusion over what constitutes a blade "choil" - an indentation at the base of the blade in the ricasso transition. A choil does not need to be large enough to fit a finger, indeed most choils are quite small as witnessed by the majority of slipjoints. The Spyderco Paramilitary 2 does NOT have a choil, it has a finger groove in the integral guard formed by the extended ricasso, well away from the blade. The BRKT Bravo 1 does have a choil.


Point 3: most knives, swords, etc. break in the blade (commonly at a transition point such as the plunge near the ricasso or the sweep to the tip) rather than the tang, as the blade is the focal point of stress. So as long as the handle+tang allow sufficient leverage to transfer the appropriate cutting force from my body into the blade, I do not worry about the tang... I worry about the blade.

 

[jdk1]

It sounds like your question is why are some khuks made without a full, handle width tang. First off, historically khukuri were made with a partial tang extending only part way into the handle. The reason for this is unknown to me, but could've involved saving steel for the area it was needed most, the blade. It could also be that it gave the best balance for it's use. Around WWI, as far as I know, we started to see the full length "stick" tang khuks made. Why? I don't have a clue, but would guess it could've been the English influence as the British issue Mk. I may be the first large scale production full length stick tang khukuri. The Mk. II seems the first khuk made to any degree which had an actual full sized tang and slab handles. It came out during WWI and continued into WWII, where it was replaced with another full sized tang, the Mk. III. This khuk still see some use in the Indian Army I believe, but the Brits went back to a stick tang in the 1960s (?).

The traditional partial tang seems plenty strong to people who use them regularly. Simon, of Tora Blades, stated the full sized tang was actually easier for the kami to make as it's simple to attach slabs of wood, as opposed to making a long narrow hole to fit a curved tang. Hopefully, I'm quoting him properly on that. His problem with this is that he says it ruins the balance and slab handles are not as secure and tend to become lose sooner than a stick tang. I like a full sized tang, but I think it makes a tougher blade overall. I can also replace handle slabs if need be. A stick tang is beyond my skill level, but is not an issue in Nepal. My personal belief is that the full sized khuk tang is a British invention and it seems to have been unpopular with Gurkha, as well as many others due to balance and weight issues.

It seems a full sized tang feels best to many if it tapers from bolster to pommel. A stick tang can be full spine thickness. How that affects strength I can't say. I can say I had several HI stick tang khuks X-rayed and it would take some real force to break or bend them. I don't question the strength of mine one bit. I've beat one in particular pretty hard and it handles heavy use very well.

So, it's not ease of manufacture nor is it solely tradition which keeps the stick tang alive. Many regular khuk users just prefer the stick tang and I can't argue against it, other than myself preferring extra "insurance" and being able to repair/replace a full sized tang/slab combo easier. Take care.

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

Stick tangs can be plenty strong. Particularly HI ones. I mean, many of those have a spine that's around 1/2" thick. Extending that into the handle would be overkill, IMO. Ka-bar USMC knives are stick tang, IIRC, and those are plenty tough. As Moose always says, a million Marines can't be that wrong. I make full tang knives myself because they're just easier to make since I don't have the tooling to do a hidden tang. But there's nothing inherently weak about hidden tangs or stick tangs. I'm not sure what it was that initially gave people that impression, but hidden or stick tangs can be plenty strong.

 

[mete]

I've had mine for years ,maker unknown ,24 oz, similar to the military .The tang is full width but tapered thickness . That's a chopper and you want the weight out where it's doing work , not in the handle !!
It tapers from 1/4" to 1/16".

 

[chiral.grolim]

I've had mine for years ,maker unknown ,24 oz, similar to the military .The tang is full width but tapered thickness . That's a chopper and you want the weight out where it's doing work , not in the handle !!
It tapers from 1/4" to 1/16".

Pics, pretty please??? I love to see a well tapered tang :thumbup:

 

[SilentJohn]

mines full tang and it works just fine

 

[CascadeSam]

This was a great post to read. Overall, comments seemed very objective and non-biased in stating different tang types and makers can make good reliable kukris. Thanks.

 

[Jroden5446]

Personally I prefer an exposed tang to the hidden tang, just piece of mind I guess, even though I know in my head that the full length hidden tangs of HIs are more than I'd ever break.

The hidden tangs on HIs aren't welded on after the fact, they are one soild piece. I have one I'm in the process of rehandling I can snap a pic of.