skeletonized handle or not?

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francoiscaloz

Joined
Feb 11, 2016
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I notice some makers skeletonize the tang and some don't. What's the benefit? And does it really matter that much?
 
Assuming you're talking about the tang, it is for weight/balance if it is going to be covered with scale.

It also gives epoxy more surface area and pass through between the scales.
 
francoiscaloz said:
Does it make the knife weaker?
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Yes. But there is a right and wrong way to do it. Generally the first inch of tang is the most strained, so if the later half of the tang is skeletonized it probably doesn't matter much at all.

One of my favorite internet pictures:
spydercobushcraft-p3171255.jpg


This would be better:
enzo-2150.jpg


Keep in mind that the thickness of the material matters. A 1/4" tang that looks pretty skeletonized is still very, very strong.
 
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RX, nice photos . The stress on the tang is highest at the blade/tang joint, least on the end of the tang. You might see a tang with many small holes but a few large holes is better !!
The major reason fo skeletonizing is balance. I took a fine hunting knife that had poor balance when I tried to take apart a deer. So I had the skeletonizing work done and now it's my favorite !
Keep 1/8" between holes and between holes and edge. Check the balance as you drill.
 
mete said:
RX, nice photos . The stress on the tang is highest at the blade/tang joint, least on the end of the tang. You might see a tang with many small holes but a few large holes is better !!
The major reason fo skeletonizing is balance. I took a fine hunting knife that had poor balance when I tried to take apart a deer. So I had the skeletonizing work done and now it's my favorite !
Keep 1/8" between holes and between holes and edge. Check the balance as you drill.
Click to expand...

You could also make the argument that the stress is highest wherever your hand ends, because you index finger and thumb become the axis point for the bending.
 
The benefit is lighter weight. Strength is not significantly affected. It matters if weight is a concern. Some prefer the feel of a solid tang, others would rather have less to lug around.
 
Kwon Kwang said:
The benefit is lighter weight. Strength is not significantly affected. It matters if weight is a concern. Some prefer the feel of a solid tang, others would rather have less to lug around.
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How is strength not affected? What sort of full tang failures under the handles don't involve a hole?
 
RX-79G said:
How is strength not affected? What sort of full tang failures under the handles don't involve a hole?
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Key word "significantly".

Like mete said, the highest point of stress is where the blade and tang meet. Images without context are completely meaningless because we have no idea how the knife broke.
 
RX-79G said:
How is strength not affected? What sort of full tang failures under the handles don't involve a hole?
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i think he means that most knives fail in the blade before the tang. *shrug* Depending on the design, of course.


To the OP, you should take a look at some of the tapered tangs produced by makers, another way of reducing weight and improving balance but without cutting big holes or lots of little ones. :thumbup:
Full-length stick-tangs can also be very strong while reducing weight and improving balance, but there are risks with poorly radiused transitions, etc. similar to cutting holes at high-stress regions of a full-width tang.

Like RX typed, there are right and wrong ways to do all of them.
 
Kwon Kwang said:
Key word "significantly".

Like mete said, the highest point of stress is where the blade and tang meet. Images without context are completely meaningless because we have no idea how the knife broke.
Click to expand...

The Spyderco Bushcraf in the picture was the first version. Based on this and other user feedback, Spyderco announced that they removed the first hole. It's a 1/8" thick tang, not 3/16" or 1/4" where everything is much stiffer.

I'm not making a doom and gloom prediction about skeletonized tangs, but you don't get something for nothing. Do an image search for "tang failure" and look at where the full tangs broke.
 
BTW, there was a fellow from China ,on the forum, who had drawings of a proposed knife. I said then it was a poor design for the blade/handle area ---the finished knife broke in that area !!
 
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