Please help me with a tapered tang

L

Laredian

Joined
May 27, 2013
Messages
199
Greetings,

I need help with a tapered tang. The knife is 4mm thick and a full tang construction. I wanted to try a tapered tang and I don't know how to proceed from here.

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The scales go to where the brown tape starts and I really, really don't want to grind or sand past this point, because the rest of the knife is finished....

My problem is that I cannot get the tang flat. I started on the grinder and then sanded it with sandpaper glued to a granite surface. Everything I try seems to just make it worse.

When grinding on the belt grinder I held the tang perpendicular to the running belt and not horizontally because the wheel of my flat platen probably would have messed up my ricasso area.....

Also how do I make the taper stop exactly at the point where the scales end, especially when the scales are rounded?

I really need some advice here because right now I'm lost.

Best regards
 
You don't have a choice, your taper has to extend past the front of your scales as you have to create a completely flat plane for them to sit on. How far forward of the front of the scales is up to you. If you don't have your makers mark on the ricasso area, you can take the taper all the way to the shoulder of your plung line. Don't worry about a little refinishing, all part of knifemaking.
 
Well crap, but I guess it can't be helped...off to the grinder it is.

Thank you very much for you quick answer!
 
if you hold the tang perpendicular to the belt it will never get flat. hold it with the point of the blade toward the ceiling. i use a magnet to hold the blade. when you start, keep your riccasso above the platen wheel, so you do not accidentally scuff it while trying to get the angle established. by the time your taper is half way up the blade, you can lower the ricasso below the wheel of the platen because the taper will give clearance and you wont scuff it. i start the taper at the end of the handle and work it up to the guard. try practicing with a piece of 1/4" wood cut out in a knife profile and an 80 grit belt, to train your hands a bit before trying the next metal one.
 
Get Bob Loveless' book "How to make knives" He tells and shows how to taper a tang. It's really easy if you do it the way he does.
 
That's how I do it. Point up and I rest the butt on the work rest. I scribe a line along the butt so I have a place to grind to so the tapers on each side are the same and centered. Like such
Photo%20Aug%2022%2C%201%2042%2000%20AM.jpg


Photo%20Aug%2022%2C%202%2043%2029%20AM.jpg
 
Well that was the worst choice I have made in a very long time. I had a blade that I was finally happy with and now i gotta sand the ricasso area again, etch it again etc etc....lots of possibilities for me to screw up.

Anyway thank you very much for all the responses and advice, I will definitely try to take them into consideration the next time.

Best regards
 
I find tapering tangs to be a lot easier with the Platten tilted forward. Mine is set so that in my natural grinding position, my eyes look straight down the face of the Platten.
As was previously mentioned, a hollow grind first helps a lot. I'll use a 5" wheel, and not worry about grinding off the end of sides of the tang. Just get as much metal as possible off on the wheel, leaving just enough to clean up with the Platten. The flattening only takes me 30 seconds or so per side with a 36 grit
 
I scribe on the butt of the tang the width I want it.
Using a big knife magnet I Grind 45* to those lines, then grind butt up and work the grind down toward where you want the taper to stop.

This way I can watch the rear of the tang to make sure it does not get to thin and it is easy to keep the grind even as you grind toward the ricasso.
 
For the folks tapering butt down: How do you watch the scribe line? Are you check the sides? I always taper butt up, so I can watch my scribed line. Is there an advantage to butt down that I'm not seeing?
 
Kevin McGovern said:
For the folks tapering butt down: How do you watch the scribe line? Are you check the sides? I always taper butt up, so I can watch my scribed line. Is there an advantage to butt down that I'm not seeing?
Click to expand...

I just find it way easier to control with the blade up and butt down. Hitting the scribed line is just a question of grind and check. Doing it like Adam described with a 45 first makes it very quick to check. And then I'm watching how high the grind goes towards the ricasso as much or more than the butt, since I want both sides to meet in the same place.
 
Why you dont use jig for this ? Set rest plate 90 degrees to belt and grind as you grind bevel ? And just watch scribe line in tang ?
 
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It's faster to just do it by eye than get everything set up with a jig, when you hollow out the center first.
 
The way I do it with the Platten tilted forward, I can pretty well look through the groove hollow ground in the tang right until I hit my scribe line. I'll still check and fine tune it a bit at the end, but this saves a lot of stopping and looking for me.
 
This is the magnet I use to grind tapered tangs. It makes the process about as easy as it can be.
MAG2_550.jpg
 
So quick update:

not only did I not get the tang flat, I also messed up my ricasso are and grind line, which I really liked by the way. I could kick myself right now.

At least I know I won't try to do a fkin tapered tang again.

Edit: yeah I can bin that knife now that I busted my ass to get right for over a month and I'm not talking every now and then, I hand sanded and filed for hours almost every day after work at night.
 
At this point I'd grind it until you do get it flat, and put a handle of pretty well any material on it. That way at least you'll have gained learning how to do them from the experience.
Fitting the handles up is a bit trickier too, so this would be a good opportunity to practice that to avoid screwing up another blade when you eventually do decide to try again
 
Laredian said:
So quick update:

not only did I not get the tang flat, I also messed up my ricasso are and grind line, which I really liked by the way. I could kick myself right now.

At least I know I won't try to do a fkin tapered tang again.

Edit: yeah I can bin that knife now that I busted my ass to get right for over a month and I'm not talking every now and then, I hand sanded and filed for hours almost every day after work at night.
Click to expand...
In what way did you try to taper tang ? Belt grinder or hand file ? Is it hardened ? Do you have pictures to look at?
 
I to would like to see pictures. What grinder are you using, I don't think you said. I taper the tang befor I hand sand that way I can blend in the taper to the flat. Tapering a tang can be tricky if you have never done it befor. If you don't mind me asking, why did it take so long to grind and sand this knife? We have all had set backs in knife making but the most important thing is to learn and move forward. The worst thing you can do is get mad and say you will never do try that again. For exzample this was my most memorable fail and I proudly display it next to my heat treat oven to remind me what not to do in the future. Yes it sucked as I had a lot of time into forging and grinding this blade but I turned around, sucked it up and went back at it and made somthing I am extremely proud of. So keep at it and you will get better and faster as well as have more confidence in your skills.

Here is my reminder to never try and straighten a blade when it's gotten to cold.
32" arming "knights" sword.
Photo%20Aug%2028%2C%2011%2038%2016%20PM.jpg
 
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