Removing stress risers

t1mpani

t1mpani

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Jun 6, 2002
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Just wanted to throw an idea out here; I'm working on re-handling a knife for a friend of mine. It's a hidden tang and the transition from ricasso to tang has no curve to it at all, just a 90 degree shoulder. I'm wondering if I couldn't actually strengthen it by using a round file to cut arches into the two shoulders--even though removing material, it should help distribute forces into a larger area than it is currently. The tang is 3/4" wide, and the way I'm thinking it would neck down right at the front to like 5/8" or so. I have a few pretty skinny round files and would only grind until the existing angle was removed. Kind of like using a hole saw at the juncture points on a set of stair stringers.

Make any sense?

I'm sorry if this has already been covered but I tried "remove stress risers" and a few other combinations and while I found a good bit, it all seemed to be how to make a knife correctly from the start. I'm trying to make one correctly after the fact. :D
 
May be hard to do on hardened steel by hand and ruin your files. Someone with a grinder could do it with the edge of a belt.
 
Hmmm--I have a grinder, but I'm not sure how to use the belt edge to make an internal arch. Or do you mean grinding the ricasso forward to turn the transition into a curve?

Just making sure my description isn't too vague, this is the general idea I'm going for:
Stressriserfile.jpg


Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it couldn't be done with a belt, I'm just trying to figure out how. :)

I thought about the dremel too--perhaps a better option than the files.
 
Yes the Dremel is the proper tool and your idea will work. Don't narrow the tang as you have shown, just cut into the blade with a 1/8" dia cutter.
 
Why it never occurred to me that I didn't have to narrow the tang to do this is beyond me. Old age setting in, I guess... :D

Many thanks to all of you. :thumbup:
 
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