Softening a tang

t1mpani

t1mpani

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Jun 6, 2002
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Hello--I need help from the wise old men. :D

I have a big Blackjack bowie whose handle came loose, and I'm needing to redrill the holes in its tang to let me pass the new, bigger rivets through. Both of my 13/16" drill bits are skating on top of the already 3/16" holes and not doing much of anything. If I could pull a few RC points out of the tang, without affecting the blade itself, it would make things a whole lot easier, and might also protect the knife from a broken tang, given the weight of the knife and the square-shouldered, stress heavy way it meets the ricasso.

So, any thoughts? I know it CAN be done, I just don't know how to do it. I don't want to turn it into mild steel, but knockin' it back to the high 40s or low 50s would be nice. Blade steel is 52100, 1/4" thick.

Thanks for looking,
Warren
 
If you do it right it gets soft and wet on its own. Some times you do need to buy it a few drinks.

Your scareing me just a bit though....never ran into one that hard myself.
 
Because most of the knives I make are Damascus I harden the whole piece, with maybe the exception of a hidden tang. I softback draw the piece with the edge in water. I heat the back until it turns blue. I make sure that I torch soften the junction of the tang to the blade. 52100 is special in that it will air harden to some degree. So keep out of a draft and slow cool with in reason. It should get down to the high 40's on the RC scale...Take Care...Ed
 
I would leave the steel untouched, and buy a carbide spade bit in the size you need. No fuss no bother, just bigger holes. :cool:
 
bigjim said:
If you do it right it gets soft and wet on its own. Some times you do need to buy it a few drinks.

Your scareing me just a bit though....never ran into one that hard myself.
Click to expand...

I'm a bit scared myself, now... ;)

Thanks guys!
 
This is the job for one of my favorite bits.A solid carbide tapered reamer burr.It will make a 1/8 hole a 1/4 hole in one second flat.Most of the knife cataloges carry them.They run about $14.They are also great for "moving" those holes that are a bit out of alignment when you go to put all three rivits in (Don't act like it ain't happened to you,too).
Stacy
 
If the tang is to hard to drill it might be to hard for function and possibly lead to breakage. Carbide drill bits will certainly handle the job, so will 25 cents worth of propane and a $1 HSS bit...Take Care...Ed
 
Again, I appreciate it guys. I have in my possession, now, a 13/64" cobalt drill bit. I think (and I won't be doing this until tomorrow evening at the earliest, so stop me if I'm wrong) that since I don't have a torch handy, I'm going to drill those holes out and only put enough oil on to help the bit cut, and give the metal no cooling time in between. It might get hot enough to ease up that perfect 58RC, but be localized enough to not mess with the blade. That's my guess, anyway. I know people often talk about the heat generated from grinders ruining blade tempers, so I figured steel on steel should be able to provide the same result. :)
 
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