Sharp exposed tang solutions

Halfneck

Halfneck

Joined
Jun 30, 2005
Messages
4,242
Prior to getting my GEC Radio knife I'd never ran into this problem. The tangs on my Case Peanut and Medium Jack sit a bit lower and are not sharp. My other GEC knives also have sharp edges on their tangs, but being single bladed or equal-end knives, it is not as much of an issue. Anyway, I was using my Radio Knife to tighten up a screw and it was made a bit difficult due to the sharp edges on the clip blade's tang. Worked fine, but it did cause me to shift my grip a couple of times.

So how would the wise members here recommend I soften the edges on these exposed tangs?
 
I found the exposed tangs on my 22 uncomfortable. I just took my diamond stone that is coarse/medium and carefully filed them down in a rounded manner. It made it a bit more comfortable, certainly doesnt snag skin and won't cut, and it didn't hurt the tightness when open.
 
Sharp shoulder on the tang has always bugged me, even way back before I had ever heard of BF. I have used Diamond hones or sandpaper (200-400 grit) and a lot of times it can be hard to not leave marks on the knife unless you mask it off with some tape. My goal has been to just very lightly break the sharp edge, not round it. It doesn't take much. Nowadays I use my buffer and give it about 2-4 seconds on the wheel...It takes longer to clean the knife after than the actual softening of that edge.
 
I use a finer paper, 8-1000 grit. That way if you do mark the bolsters it can be quickly polished out on a leather strop for example.
 
I find this with GECs, and as you have observed, some Jack patterns can be quite uncomfortable in the hand because of it. Then pockets certainly feel the effect of sharp tangs..:eek:

When I stone the tangs I ALWAYS cover the bolster with masking tape, I'm not so steady...One of the Sharpmaker's coarse rods work very nicely and I have a fine file as an alternative.

I think it's about time GEC tried a sunk-joints knife, CASE have managed it so can RR so branch out there...(the 57 Half Whitt is pretty close)
 
I soften the edges of the tangs most of the time. They're not good on pockets either.
 
I knock sharp spots of my knives with 600grit emery paper, followed by 1500 grit, including the tang corners, blade spines, cut swedges (which your radio knife doesnt have, but my Long pull charlows do), bolster corners, the liners in the blade pocket, end of charlow handles, and even the entire knife including bone or wood covers. I then polish with stropping compound and my personal favorite final gloss, Sunshine Cloth. Im jealous of people who own full size buffing wheels. I have a dremmel with small buffing wheels, which definitely helps.

My GEC's feel MUCH smoother in hand after I get done finishing them. But it completely destroys any collector value or resale value, since the knife is no longer mint. But I buy to use, not to resell, the knife is mine so I do whatever makes me happy.

I have even been known to lower blade kicks to suit my taste... not for the faint of heart

fwiw, Case polishes their tangs and spines, so they are not sharp like the ones GEC leaves intact. Some people consider those sharp corners on a GEC a sign that the knife is in mint condition. I consider it an unfinished polishing job. GEC Northfields are finished to a finer polish than Tidioutes, but I still soften any corner that feels sharp to my delicate hands.
 
Strange. I have never encountered sharp tangs that Iknow of. I just checked the seven on my desk and none are sharp. I don't have any GEC knives though. These knives date from 1908 through 2002.
 
I tend to fondle all of the knives I carry so I always soften the sharp tangs and swedge edges and corners on almost all of my GEC knives.
 
I know that some people like the exact edges and corners, so that when the blade is opened it appears to be a continuation of the spring and appears to be a continuous piece of steel.

Some folks prefer the edges and corners to be a bit rounded for handling comfort. I fall into this latter category. I've used a Sharpmaker stone to soften spine edges and tang corners on occasion. Doesn't take much work and I don't mind giving the other camp the option of getting what they want in a knife.
 
I use a fine diamond file to soften the edge,have also lowered the kick if the blade sit’s a tad high.
 
My #85 had this problem...I fixed it with a little Smith's pocket diamond rod. That little med grit rod has round, tapered, flat and recessed angles...it's what I always use to knock off sharp edges on a pocket knife.
 
Frank said what I was going to say: I like the sharp edge on the blade tang, so that there's a seamless transition between blade and spring. It's purely aesthetic. I don't mind a sharp corner, never noticed any discomfort. I guess my hands are covered in leather. ;)
 
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