Need some bowie-design advice

J

jimbowie7

Joined
Mar 13, 2005
Messages
90
Hi,

I'm about to forge an enormous bowie (2.5" wide and 12" blade) and was wondering whether I should go with a full tang "coffin" shaped handle or a hidden tang handle?

Which one is more appealing (in terms of aesthetics and performance) and why?

Thanks!
 
Full tang.The handle shape is up to you,but I would go with another shape than a coffin handle on one that large.Grip and balance will be important on that size.
 
i just finnished a hidden tang and while i like how it came out it was way too much work imho. with a blade of that wieght a full tang will give a better balanced feel i think too. or maybe not.
 
Good morning, If tradition is a consideration, most bowies were built as hidden tang knives. The use of a full tang will somewhat, "limit" the possibilities of your handle and guard design because of the need to follow the outline of the full tang handle. There is no lack of strength in a well built hidden tang knife,
even with a knife of this size. Post some photos when you get it handled. Fred
 
Your point is very well made, Fred! A lot of coffin handled bowies look like fulltang knives, and yet they have a guard whose slot would have had to be smaller than the butt end. how did those go on, then? Wrapped-tang, or whatever they were called.....

The cheap old fulltangs were often narrower at the butt than at the guard so a guard would slide on. A design flaw for a fighter, that. The knife would fly out of a wet hand if used for fighting. They were done that way to make a knife cheaply.
 
If you were thinking about a coffin handle with the full tang, would you also use a coffin shaped handle if you made a through tang? Or would you use a different handle shape entirely?

If you are contemplating two entirely different handle shapes, then perhaps it would be best to settle on that first. I generally think of a coffin handle as a more versatile design, while other shapes can be focused more towards one particular use. In either case, the handle must be shaped to keep your hand in place during thrusts and swings, etc.

Either method can work very well, depending entirely on how you do them. Both will probably need some additional weight added to the butt if you want the optimal striking point closer to the tip. (in conjunction with the proper distal tapers) Extra mass in the center of the grip is just dead weight, so if you go the full tang route, you may need to drill some holes out of the middle. A hidden tang is not exposed to the elements, so rust cannot form as easily on the tang, which could crack the handle material. In terms of durability, a full tang in theory should be stronger, but the handle scales can pop loose more easily too, so you'll have to put extra thought into the attachment method, and maybe even some spacers for shock absorbtion. With the hidden tang, your concern would be more with splitting, so think about ferrules, rounded edges on the tang, etc.
 
If you wanted a big handle with a full tang look but with a guard, there is the option of a false full tang,
I cant remember the name, for some reason box tang sticks in my mind, but that's probably not right, you make kind of a stick tang and then fit the gaurd and then shape a piece of metal around the tang to make it look like a full tang and fit it with your scales, I guess you could fit your gaurd around a stick tang and weld a piece on even, if you were worried about strength that would work as long as you didn't mess with your temper. then you could fit scales and not see the welded portion.
just an option if the gaurd fitting was a problem with the handle size or shape you were thinking...
i am a big fan of coffin handled bowies for looks, never really handled one though to gauge performance
 
Oh the irony of this post!!! :eek: :D


I'm on the opposite end of the sprectrum from most of these guys.

I don't ever want to say that I need to put a bunch of weight in my knives.

A blade that size, if ground thin and with a good distal taper, can be light and fast.

There's no reason to go with either full tang or hidden tang other than whichever you prefer.

This knife has a 12" X 2" blade and it's not heavy on either end ;)

orig.jpg
 
Nick-
You're right about the weight thing. Hope I didn't come across that way. Even a large knife of a given weight can seem light & quick in handling if the balance is right. I also mentioned the counterweight trick at the butt to increase chopping power near the tip.
 
fitzo and cooks, the technical term is frame tang i do believe. the tang is made like any other hidden-tang knife, but another piece of steel (or whatever) is cut to fit around the tang and shaped however you want the handle. it's then attached to the scales via pins of some sort, and the whole piece is slid onto the tang and secured. this may not be the exact procedure, but it's the gist of how it works...

if you were to use a coffin-handle, i'd probably use a frame handle design. that way the tang is tapered properly, and you don't have an acute angle between the ricasso and the tang.
Alex
 
Thank you, Alex!

Nick, just where the heck did most of us say the knife had to be heavy?? :jerkit: ;) Nice 'harmon' on that pigsticker, BTW! ;)
 
Nick, that is a VERY beautiful knife!:thumbup: :thumbup:
You are so lucky I do not live anywhere near you, I would be a total pest:D

Is it my imagination or does the guard steel have a sorta antique silver look to it? How do you get it looking like that?

Is it unethical to enquire as to how much you would normally charge for a knife like that?:o

Jimbowie, I have to agree with those who say it is a matter of personal taste. If balance is an issue you could maybe put a bigass, heavy butt cap on? A stylish one of course.:D

Mike
 
fitzo said:
Your point is very well made, Fred! A lot of coffin handled bowies look like fulltang knives, and yet they have a guard whose slot would have had to be smaller than the butt end. how did those go on, then? Wrapped-tang, or whatever they were called.....

The cheap old fulltangs were often narrower at the butt than at the guard so a guard would slide on. A design flaw for a fighter, that. The knife would fly out of a wet hand if used for fighting. They were done that way to make a knife cheaply.
Click to expand...
I believe you're right there, about making them cheap.
NOt many in those days were doing what we do today. 50 hours building a bowie. I don't think so. Fred
 
NickWheeler said:
Oh the irony of this post!!! :eek: :D


I'm on the opposite end of the sprectrum from most of these guys.

I don't ever want to say that I need to put a bunch of weight in my knives.

A blade that size, if ground thin and with a good distal taper, can be light and fast.

There's no reason to go with either full tang or hidden tang other than whichever you prefer.

This knife has a 12" X 2" blade and it's not heavy on either end ;)

orig.jpg
Click to expand...
Is that a water quenched blade? Fine Hamon :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
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