Tang design question

D

DustinHall

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Dec 31, 2008
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I'm trying to save steel so I came up with this design but, I need to know, of course, if it will be strong enough/acceptable. The short square part of the tang will have a slot cut in and the long bolt will then be welded into the slot then I'll have a nut squeezing everything together. Tell me what you think...
 
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My only suggestion is to make sure there are no sharp corners between the blade and the tang. Use rounded radii between the two, which is much stronger than a sharp corner. You wouldn't want it to break at the sharp corner.
 
I figured you'd want a 90 degree edge for the guard to set on instead of rounded but, I do know that any sharp angles are stress risers. I'll be rounding them because you're right, I wouldn't want it to break. I appreciate the replies.

Now would this be as strong of a design as a longer tang with a shorter bolt welded onto the end for the pommel cap?
 
The guard slot should be slightly longer to accommodate the radiused transition. The guard will still rest on a flat, flush surface.

I know I've seen several makers use this type of design or variations of it, and they seem to have good success. It's only going to be as strong as your weakest link, so as long as you make a solid weld and use a quality threaded rod, you should be fine.

--nathan
 
I would probably use a piece of decent steel rod that I would thread on the end as opposed to using a lower carbon allthread. You can also key-hole the slot for the rod to create a mechanical bond on top of your welding. Get a rot that is slightly larger in diameter than the thickness of your stub tang.

--nathan
 
You could also try brazing that tang extension on. I do that, mostly prepping it as a long "v-joint" first. Brazing can be a super strong bond with a well designed joint, and it seems to me there are less of the potential problems of welds affecting tang steel adversely. It doesn't take as high of a heat, so you won't have to take the tang stub above critical. It will work as well with more difficult steels to weld like stainless types. Especially if you don't have Mig or Tig capability.
 
You're definitely better off brazing or hard soldering. Welding hardened allthread to another dissimilar high carbon steel with mild filler rod is asking for a problem.
 
When it came to the point where I actually had to buy some blade steel (1095) I toyed with the idea of doing the same thing or welding in some mild steel for full tangs but with materials and time it just didn't seem like it was worth it. Perhaps on a $200.00 piece of damascus and the possibility of getting 3 instead of 2 knives out of it then yes, perhaps it is worth the time and effort to recover 3 or 4 inches of metal from each knife.

I'm cheap, but there's a point where being too cheap can cost you more than you think.
 
I have braised bolts into tangs, but these were rat tail type forgings and the bolt was the last inch.
 
Making the tang the way I designed would cost nothing but my time and I have plenty of that. It would also allow me to make 2 smaller knives from the remaining 9" leftover. If I make a full tang I will only have about 6" left on the end of my 18" piece and that isn't going to leave me with many options for another knife.
 
What 69_knives said.

For a 7"+ bowie... stick tang for balance. Just shape thread the end for your tang nut as you originally planned.

In my limited experience, I've quickly found that even the finest barstock is generally the least costly part of making a knife. Plus, it just goes against my nature to make things too complicated.
 
Dustin, if you're planning ahead to make several knives from one bar, I can understand that. I still don't think it's worth it, but that's just me. 6" is plenty for a little necker, y'know.

If you keep at it, look into a 36" bar next time. The longer it is, the easier it is to play around with plotting out blade blanks. I'm totally with you on making the most of a bar.
 
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