Skeletonized Tangs

[Mike Read]

I would have made the frame/periphery of the handle thicker towards the blade end and thinner towards the butt end. This will give you extra strength where you most need it and a more neutral balance.

As it is, it will look much stronger than it actually is.

 

[Grant D]

You've put a lot of effort in to that tang. Maybe have screw on scales so you can have stuff in there, like a hollow handeled knife

That’s a neat idea!

 

[Grant D]

.

 

[JTknives]

Don’t listen the the 3/16” haters. If done right you can use what ever thickness of material you want. If I was using thick blade material I would do like you did and cut out weight in the tang and then do a nice deep hallow grind. It’s amazing how much weight you can dump with a hallow grind compared to a flat grind.

on a 2nd note we cut chunks out of tangs all the time for customers. This was the last batch of .138 AEBL.

I use to make these and thy are anything but heavy and thy are 1/4”

 

[Joshua Fisher]

I agree with a lot of the above. Nice clean work, good job with the files. I like chainsaw files too.

One thing to think about regarding weight, though. If you plan on using epoxy, that'll fill up the spaces, adding some of the weight back.

Hi Joshua, not sure if you saw this, but there are a number of folks who say the science says otherwise, however:https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...y-stuck-on-blade-tangs.1672342/#post-19129994

Definitely interesting thread, In a practical sense I’ve found that test blades that have through holes and small holes in the handle material/ hollowed tang seem to have a stronger bond/less likely to squeeze out too much glue to get a proper bond. I guess it depends on your process, on paper when all things are flat and very specific grooves are created at a determined depth with no variations or allowance for error then perhaps things would be different but we don’t live on paper. Granted I’ve not done scientific tests with a large sample size to be able to say one way or another works best but I know what works best for me in a practical sense and what I’ve seen fail or work.

 

[weo]

but we don’t live on paper. . . . but I know what works best for me in a practical sense and what I’ve seen fail or work

I agree, and I will continue to hollow out my full tangs as well. I just think we should make sure we're explaining this to the newer makers for the right reasons.
To improve the bond of the epoxy? No.
To lighten the blade and/or make it easier to get a good, seamless fit between tang and scale? Yes.

 

[C_Claycomb]

I am surprised no one has mentioned that the tang is skelletonized rather close to the ricasso. We all say knives shouldn't be pry bars, but, 3/16 stock looks like it could be, and it looks like an outdoor survival type knife, and someone is going to wallop on it to spit wood. Back when Spyderco did their first run of Bushcraft knives some fool went and tried to hammer one through a nasty twisty, seasoned bit of (I think) oak. I don't consider battoning to cut wood or split fire wood to be abuse, when done right, but I thought what he did was dumb. Anyway, he thought that a bushcraft knife should do that and the knife broke, under the handle scales! That was a bit of the design that I hadn't seen, lightening holes had been drilled in the tang, and one was close up where the index finger would curl around. That is where the blade broke. Admittedly it was all one hardness, and quite hard at that, but if I were doing a design that would be repeated (like yours), I would fill in the first hole before the first handle pin. I might also have bigger fillets where the legs support the first hole, flowing back into that second hole.

I like hidden tangs, I don't subscribe to the view that you need a full tang for strength, but good hidden tangs of this sort of size would have at least 1/2 inch of tang at the end of the handle, or more like 5/8 or even 3/4 for a 1" deep handle. It doesn't look like you have that much steel total.

For light weight, yeah, thinner stock is better. Handle material makes a big difference too. Wood is a lot lighter than micarta, and Micarta is a lot lighter than G10.

Best of luck!

Chris

 

[Grant D]

I am surprised no one has mentioned that the tang is skelletonized rather close to the ricasso. We all say knives shouldn't be pry bars, but, 3/16 stock looks like it could be, and it looks like an outdoor survival type knife, and someone is going to wallop on it to spit wood. Back when Spyderco did their first run of Bushcraft knives some fool went and tried to hammer one through a nasty twisty, seasoned bit of (I think) oak. I don't consider battoning to cut wood or split fire wood to be abuse, when done right, but I thought what he did was dumb. Anyway, he thought that a bushcraft knife should do that and the knife broke, under the handle scales! That was a bit of the design that I hadn't seen, lightening holes had been drilled in the tang, and one was close up where the index finger would curl around. That is where the blade broke. Admittedly it was all one hardness, and quite hard at that, but if I were doing a design that would be repeated (like yours), I would fill in the first hole before the first handle pin. I might also have bigger fillets where the legs support the first hole, flowing back into that second hole.

I like hidden tangs, I don't subscribe to the view that you need a full tang for strength, but good hidden tangs of this sort of size would have at least 1/2 inch of tang at the end of the handle, or more like 5/8 or even 3/4 for a 1" deep handle. It doesn't look like you have that much steel total.

For light weight, yeah, thinner stock is better. Handle material makes a big difference too. Wood is a lot lighter than micarta, and Micarta is a lot lighter than G10.

Best of luck!

Chris

Thank you for the response and the tips, in hindsight I agree that it is hollowed too close to the ricasso. If I decide to skeletonize tangs going forward, I’ll make sure that area is made to be more robust!

 

[LARRYZ10]

I don't think 3/16th material is too thick at all. A good custom made knife should have some heft to it, so the user feels like he has a hold on something substantial. If you use the skeletonized tang I would consider moving the front edge of the handle cut out nearest the choil about another 3/16ths toward the butt end of the knife. Tapering the tang is also a good idea to reduce a little bit of weight and uniqueness.

I agree. 3/16 steel makes a good knife. I like to taper the tang and do a full hollow grind so that the only place the knife is thick is at the ricasso. My knifes are strong and not to heavy. Larry