Tapered tang fan

[akadave2]

I dont understand why more knifemakers dont taper the tang on their full tang knives. I think it helps balance the knife better especially if you use distal taper on your knives. It seems the "Slab 'O' Steel" has become dujour.

 

[Tony_A]

I dont understand why more knifemakers dont taper the tang on their full tang knives. I think it helps balance the knife better especially if you use distal taper on your knives. It seems the "Slab 'O' Steel" has become dujour.

Agreed.

Although I've seen several that balance their knives by drilling extra holes in the tang before attaching the handle slabs, I'd guess that tapering the tang (and fitting the handles to such,) requires a lot more skill than drilling some hidden holes....


edit--For those that have never seen one, the knife on the left has a tapered tang, the one on the right does not--it keeps the same thickness from guard to butt. That does not necessarily mean that it is stronger than if were tapered. The tang on the right is actually skeletonized underneath for weight/balance. There's actually very little metal under that handle.

edit2---Example of what's really under the non-tapered knife's handles (not my picture)