ontario spec plus frontiersman, how to strengthen tang?

Josh Muller

Josh Muller

Joined
Jun 22, 2003
Messages
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sp18-bent-tang.jpg
sp18-bladeflat-handle-removed.jpg


i can honestly say that i dont like this knife, but i also dont want to sell it for some reason... something about the blades that you really beat on seaming to be more of an attachment then the knives you never touch for fear of fingerprints...

so, in luie (sp?) of selling it, any ideas on how to strengthen the tang? the entire thing is really weak feeling from the factory, a very thinly ground 3/16 with a stick tang that has a hole in the middle of it (wich on this blade is an obviously poor choice, as thats the first place it bent at), but it seemed to take the rigors of being thrown pretty good for about 30 throws until the handle bit went crooked and came loose.

just wonderin if anyone has any ideas on how to strengthen it? i dont mind making a new handle for it if it requires more space to work with in the handle department...

thanks for any replies :)
 
Maybe after you straighten it you can make a slab handle using the existing holes for rivets and use steel slabs. It'd throw the weight off for throwing, but you found out it wasn't well suited for throwing due to it's construction anyhow.

Another possibility, if you know what steel it's made from and have the equipment to do it, it to reheat treat the entire blade including the tang and then temper the tang back. The way it bent I'm guessing that the tang was left in an annealed state, which is about as soft and bendable as steel can get. This is a pretty drastic way to go about it though, and not without risk, you could ruin the blade if it doesn't go just right.
 
As far as I know the Spec Plus knives are made of 1095. I used to be a fan of the SP series until I got an Air Force Survival knife. The blade profile was so bad and the whole thing felt so dead in hand it wasn't even funny. No comparison at all to a genuine Kabar.

If I were you I would shorten the tang to about half length (to a Japanese-style tanto half tang sort of). I would also consider regrinding the blade to a better profile, maybe getting rid of that ricasso and lenghtening the tang right up to the edge. That ricasso is pretty useless and gets in the way all the time IMO. You would ruin the phosphate coating but it's going to wear off with serious use anyway.
 
If your really interested in keeping it around and don't mind some work, you ought to make a framed handle for it. I think Bruce Evans has a tutorial on his website.
 
SethMurdock said:
the first place it bent at), but it seemed to take the rigors of being thrown pretty good for about 30 throws until the handle bit went crooked and came loose.

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There's your main problem right up front. That doesn't look like a throwing knife to me.
Throwning knives is the fastest way to destroy them, any of them. There are knives specifically made just for throwing. They're softer, than the norm, and usually have no handles at all, or just wrapped leather.

When I was a kid, I destroyed many good knives that had been given to me, by throwing them.

I'd do a mortised tang handle, and use the knife for something else.:(
 
One way I'd consider 'fixing' it would be to weld up the hole with 7018 or 8018 welding rod after straighting the tang, then do at least one full normilizing on the welded area with a torch and then draw it to a blue temper 2 or 3 times and it 'might' hold up better.

The bigest problem is the hole in the tang, followed by eigther soft handle material or too much room in the handle.

Anouther way would be to cut the tang at the hole, tapper a little bit and silver braze a slipt 1/4" or 5/16" bolt on to the tang and then drill out the center of the handle to fit the bolt stub tang and epoxy everything up tight.

If the handle is soft or has too much slack in it it can be a problem. A soft handle like leather or kraton or neopreme needs the maximum in tang strength, and that means a thick tang with a spring temper.

If the handle material is soft you can replace it with something less giving and epoxy it and probably be OK. If the handle is ridged and has slack, epoxy it to keep it from moving and to make the handle/tang one solid unit.

Good luck
 
if it is in an anealed state, i might just cut the section with the hole in it off and make a v joint out of it and weld it with 7018 like was suggested... i have -0 experience with torch drawing, but the blade was dead to me the day i got it, so i dont mind destroying it more. (edit - while this may seem to be in contradiction to my original statement about beaters being more of an attachment then safe queens, i would describe it like the dirt brown truck you run into the ground and have to work on every 2 weeks, its something you essenciall ruin, and its a constant hassle, but you eventually grow to love it by way of completely understanding of it, even if you hate it)


as far as not using it as a throwing knife, this knife is as far from a throwing knife as you can get, with its long distal taper, long thin ground (short (not tall)) blade and rubber handle. but seriously, it was only good for one thing, a short machete on light materials.

and even at that, as was said, its a completely lifeless blade. yes, i could sell it and make someone else happy (at a very low cost to them too) but they can get the blade for the same price i got it if they so wish. i enjoyed throwing it cause it reacted much differently then i expected it to, and i will continue to enjoy thoroughly destroying it. ive used other knives for throwing just to see their construction, or to get a photo, but i would never do it like i did with this unless i fully expectected it to break at some point in the excersize.


thank you for all your responses :D

i think i'll iether cut and weld it, or try to find a solid metal liner to bolt onto it under the new handle material...
 
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