Question about gluing blade tang to wooden handle.

sogflash

sogflash

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Aug 28, 2011
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Is it necessary with a tight fit between the tang and a wooden handle when gluing them together? I'll use some epoxy that gets rock hard.

I bet it's probably best if it's tight, but is it necessary? Will the glue be enough to hold the tang in place?
 
First of all, this isn't the right place to ask. Maintenance, Tinkering and Embellishment would be more appropriate, or Shoptalk in the makers section.

Second, it depends on the handle and tang. Epoxy fills gaps well and generally has good adhesion to both steel and wood, so a precise fit is not critical, but it will make the bond stronger.
 
We'll ship this one over to Shop Talk.
 
sogflash said:
Is it necessary with a tight fit between the tang and a wooden handle when gluing them together? I'll use some epoxy that gets rock hard.

I bet it's probably best if it's tight, but is it necessary? Will the glue be enough to hold the tang in place?
Click to expand...

Is it a hidden tang, ie the wood completely surrounds the tang on all sides, or a flat tang, where the tang can be seen and scales are attached to each side?

For a hidden tang, it need not be particularly tight, you could drill a big hole slightly larger than the height of the tang and fill it with epoxy and it would be fine. Most people prefer to make it tighter in some way, by drilling small holes and filing them out to be near the tang dimensions, so you do not have a mass of epoxy visible, or hide it behind a more tightly fitted front piece. Nevertheless it would be a simple and strong construction. I like to put some holes in the tang that will get filled with epoxy, others add jimps to the tang that provide somewhere for the epoxy to fill. A pin through the tang and handle is used often, but I do not.

If it is a flat tang then they need to fit well or it will look sloppy. Both glue surfaces should be very flat.
 
I'm talking about hidden tangs. I put a front piece on most of the knives I make to mask the hole in the handle.
 
It doesn't need to be too tight, but sloppy holes can cause problems in the glue up by havings slip off center.
 
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