Opinions on "3/4 tang" knives

[jdm61]

I wanted to get some opinions "3/4 tang"knives like the Randall 14/15or the Helle Les Stroud knife. I am not one of those folks who thinks that every knife had to have a full tang to be manly. Quite the contrary. BUT, customers of times want to see steel in the handle andI have never really heard that many complaints about the Randalls only showing on the topside. I ask this because I have a couple of "left over" pieces of .110 inch "unobtanium alloy steel aka 115W8 that are too narrow in the butt for a full tang blade, but would work for a knife done up like the Helle Temagami. Any thoughts?

 

[navman]

I just made my first partial tang with a piece of Rob Thomas damascus. Used three brass pins and 24 hour epoxy to secure the handle. The knife is incredibly light and seems strong enough for what a knife is supposed to do...cut. I have another remnant piece of S110V (have been using quite a bit of it lately) and will make another partial tang.

If you are referring to the stick tangs of some production knives (Gerber comes to mind) I do not feel these are typically constructed well enough, as a custom would (could, should) be. The Guardian has partial stick tang that is held in with epoxy. I have seen several come out of the handle, a problem that could have been mitigated with a simple cross pin or other mechanical bond.

 

[jdm61]

I make mostly hidden tang knives with no ill effect. What I am wondering about is a knife like the Randalls or the Helle where the tang sits in a groove so you can see it from the top, but not from the bottom. The Helle uses pins bolts,but the Randalls are just epoxied into place. Some people reason that a knife with an exposed tang is less likely to suffer damage when batoning wood. I figure that a "3/4 tang" knife would worth same way and you are not applying any more force to the slotted handle than you ae to the scales of a full tang blade. As a matter of fact,I would probably be inclined to mortice out the "slot" for the tang from a pair of "scales' and bolt them on rather than trying to mill a deep .110 slot.

I just made my first partial tang with a piece of Rob Thomas damascus. Used three brass pins and 24 hour epoxy to secure the handle. The knife is incredibly light and seems strong enough for what a knife is supposed to do...cut. I have another remnant piece of S110V (have been using quite a bit of it lately) and will make another partial tang.

If you are referring to the stick tangs of some production knives (Gerber comes to mind) I do not feel these are typically constructed well enough, as a custom would (could, should) be. The Guardian has partial stick tang that is held in with epoxy. I have seen several come out of the handle, a problem that could have been mitigated with a simple cross pin or other mechanical bond.

 

[gadunz]

Svord Economy range. Tang 7/8 length, 1/2 width. I've the Farmers, works fine.
http://www.svord.com/index.php?id_category=21&controller=category

 

[jdm61]

Those are made from a pretty darn tough flavor of steel to boot.

Svord Economy range. Tang 7/8 length, 1/2 width. I've the Farmers, works fine.
http://www.svord.com/index.php?id_category=21&controller=category

 

[22-rimfire]

I would use the left over steel stock and keep the blades under 6 inches, preferably at 4" or under so the user is less likely to beat on it excessively.

 

[Danke42]

I like the look but I think in the wrong hands it could encourage abuse.

 

[hexenjager]

I'm certainly no expert, but I can't see any reason why a knife with a tang like that shouldn't work splendidly. I've had a Blackjack 14 for years (Randall 14... uhhh... tribute) with a similar tang design and the only complaint I've had about it is that the handle gets a bit small in diameter for my hands on either side of the central swell. Nothing to do with the tang design. I like your idea of making the handle in two scales that can be joined together. That certainly sounds simpler than trying to mill a deep groove that narrow. It seems like a great solution.

I say go for it. Better to have a couple more unobtanium alloy knives in the world than to just send the useable steel to the recyclers. That would be a shame. Plenty of people are comfortable with stick tangs, so I can't imagine that a tang like this would scare everyone away. Especially if you have pics of the blades before the handle is put on so people can see what the tang really is underneath the handle. Keep us updated. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.

 

[katanas]

I have an EKA Nordic A10 with that setup (though it is one piece)and I think it's excellent. I don't feel it has compromised the knifes performance and it actually feels better than many of my "full" full tang knives.:thumbup:

 

[kenhills]

Hi, if I am following right you want to use a leftover pc. of steel to form a hidden tang. Like the old German stag knives were made. I have been doing this for quite a while I tend to use costly steel like CPM-S30 orS35 VN my lesser steel is something like CPM-154-CM. All really to expensive to use as a tang instead what I do is extend from the back of the knife to tines about an inch long and about 3/16 thick . The guard fits over it and nests against the back end of the blade. To the tines which are either 3/16 ths or 1/4 inch apart I high temperature braze silver 416 all thread. The tank is now for all that it matters part of the blade it is going no wear. The all thread is about 6 inches long at this point . All that has to be done is fashion a handle to slip over it. Finish with a 1 inch round (or something like that) brass or stainless pommel do the math right and you only need to thread part way into the pommel. Been doing it for years never a complaint. Good luck, Ken

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

As with most things, the devil is in the details. When made intelligently they're well more than strong enough. Tramontinas use mortised tangs and are used for heavy chopping work.

 

[jdm61]

No, I want to make a tang with the top "exposed. 95% of the knives that I have made over the last 12 years have been hidden tang,soI have not issues with that method of construction. However, some people do including the target audience for these knives who seemtobleive that anythingotherthan a full tang blade is inadequate......unless it is a Mora. The tang area on the pieces of steel is plenty long, but too narrow for a full tang. They are leftover pieces from strips that I cut out into large kitchen knife blade blanks.

Hi, if I am following right you want to use a leftover pc. of steel to form a hidden tang. Like the old German stag knives were made. I have been doing this for quite a while I tend to use costly steel like CPM-S30 orS35 VN my lesser steel is something like CPM-154-CM. All really to expensive to use as a tang instead what I do is extend from the back of the knife to tines about an inch long and about 3/16 thick . The guard fits over it and nests against the back end of the blade. To the tines which are either 3/16 ths or 1/4 inch apart I high temperature braze silver 416 all thread. The tank is now for all that it matters part of the blade it is going no wear. The all thread is about 6 inches long at this point . All that has to be done is fashion a handle to slip over it. Finish with a 1 inch round (or something like that) brass or stainless pommel do the math right and you only need to thread part way into the pommel. Been doing it for years never a complaint. Good luck, Ken

 

[hexenjager]

Please pardon the poor pics. So people can have an example, I believe this is the type of tang the OP is talking about (please correct me if I'm wrong) except using thinner stock... and I'm guessing without the pieces of bicycle inner tube...

 

[jdm61]

You are correct, sir and I shall not judge you on the use of the bicycle tube. I understand that is a cheaper and durable option than purpose built (and priced) "Ranger bands."

Please pardon the poor pics. So people can have an example, I believe this is the type of tang the OP is talking about (please correct me if I'm wrong) except using thinner stock... and I'm guessing without the pieces of bicycle inner tube...

 

[hexenjager]

You are correct, sir and I shall not judge you on the use of the bicycle tube. I understand that is a cheaper and durable option than purpose built (and priced) "Ranger bands."

I appreciate the lack of judgementalism. It's amazing how much difference adding just that much thickness all the way around made on the parts of the handle that were too small to be comfortable to me. All it took was a few minutes, perhaps $.03 worth of raw materials and acceptance of the fact that my neck is occasionally a lovely shade of red.