Tapering the tang??

R

rlinger

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Mar 29, 2002
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I have been strongly advised by more than not to start tapering my tangs on full tang knives.

I have a 1 X 30 and a 4 X 36 belt grinder. It seems to me that the 1 by belt is the one I should do this on. I don't know and I will, reluctantly, admit I am a little intimidated about it. I mean even the blade grind before I had ever attempted one did not puzzle me this much. Perhaps its only because I have not tryed it yet.

Do I taper from the front of bolster? Its obvious the thinest part of tang should be the end of tang. Should I taper to half thickness or there abouts. Is it what just looks good for the particular blade thickness.

I suppose my most pressing concern now is which type belt grinder do you (those of you) use for this, remembering that I have a 1 by upright and a 4 by flat grinder.

My next, and important I think, question is this: I am making now 3 knives of a maximum thickness of 0.090 inch each - a bit less than 3/32 inch - should I taper these tangs?

I hope Dave sees this. He's been on me for three or four knives about tapering the tang. Point me in the right direction.

Thanks; Roger
 
Hi Roger. :D

I think I'd use the 4 X 36. I'd taper the tang before grinding the blade.

When I do it I run the taper from the back of the bolster to the end of the tang; others start the taper at the plunge and go to the end of the tang. I think I'm going to try that way next, because you don't have to worry about that extra angle to compensate for where the bolsters and scales meet. It would also remove more metal, resulting in a lighter handle, just better all around I think.

When I'm grinding the taper I first mark two lines in the center of the end of the tang the same way I mark the edge when I'm grinding the blade. The lines should be pretty close together, maybe 1/16" apart or a touch less.

Then I hollow out the tang on my wheel, grinding right down the center from where my taper starts toward my center mark at the end of the tang. This is where most of the metal is removed and the flat grinding goes much faster this way. 60 grit belt.

Once you have the hollows cut, move to the platen for the flat grinding. Start your grind at the end of the tang and work toward the plunge. This is the trickiest time, but if your hollow is right it'll guide your grinding more than you think. There will still be a bit of a hollow down the middle of the tang; what you want to be sure of is that there's a "flat" all the way around the tapered area. 60 grit to get things going, 120 toward the end. Since I haven't ground to the plunge I can't tell you how to refine the surface of the ricasso, maybe you'll figure this out for me! ;)

Don't worry about getting the handle too thin at the end of the tang; you can always shorten the handle a bit. :) Try to bring the grind right up to the plunge; but it won't hurt later if you're a bit short.

Give it a try, once you've done it you won't feel so intimidated and you'll be so pleased with the way your knife feels alive in your hand you'll never look back. :D

I would not taper the 3/32 stock. Anything less than 3/16 probably wouldn't need it (unless it's a miniature ;) ).

Roger I hope this helps. If some parts still seem unclear we'll try again - that's the good part of this forum, it's free!
 
Steve thanks, that is good. Don Cowles is a great guy and writes a mean tutorial. His dovetailed bolster tutorial is must reading too... Roger, fair warning: Next they'll be on you to dovetail your bolsters. We can succumb to the pressure on that one together. :D

Don has some good stuff here, and I saw some things I forgot to mention - like drilling the tang holes first! Ooops.

Also, it looked to me like he left the end of the tang square while he was tapering and would later profile it to shape. I think that's a great idea. I guess that's what the pics mean, I didn't read it very closely yet.

It also looked to me like he stopped his grind behind the bolsters, which I don't think he does very often; he's one of the proponents of tapering past the bolsters. If you had dovetailed bolsters you'd have even more of a weird angle to match up if you stopped at the back of them... Guess I'm going to have to read that one soon.

Thanks for the link.

Dave
 
Dave, Good.

I have been dove tailing the bolsters, in that I cut a dove tail for epoxy to reside within the bolster and flow through the tang into the other bolster dove tail. I guess that's what you all mean by that?

I'll check that tutorial out. Thanks.

Roger
 
Outstanding.

Just looked at the tang taper tutorial and saved the index to tutorials in my favorites.

I guess I won't be tapering tangs on these less-than-3/32 inch blanks but most definitlely will be on full size hunters and the such.

Jolly good,

Roger
 
Roger you'll see a major difference in how good your knives feel in your hand when you start this. Before long you'll be on a quest for balance like you've been for the right heat treat.

The dovetailing I mentioned is cutting an angle at the back of the bolsters that slants inward to the tang, providing additional support to the scales. I bet you can find Don's great tutorial on this from the other one. But be warned: once you read it you're going to feel like every knife you don't do this to is incomplete... At least that's how I feel. A disk grinder is pretty much required though, and that's how I get myself out of it - no tool.

One day soon, one day soon. There just seems no end to the quest for getting it right - really right.

Dave
 
Dave that's a great post for me. I have not dove tailed in that manner yet. I use a dove tail cutter on my mill to cut a dove tail channel into the back of bolsters to secure them from ever coming lose of the tang (epoxy is used to fill the dove tail and flows through a tang hole into the opposite bolster dove tail). This traditional dove tail you describe is now a must for me also. Without even looking at the tutorial your description is loud and clear. I have the tool(s) to do it. Thanks for that one too.

In addition, I have never before scribed the blade edge to aid me in the grind. I just did scribe one and do like that a lot. I just happen to have spent big bucks for a dial height gage with a carbide scribe and a granite comparison block. They have been sitting here for months pretty much unused. Now I have a great and often use for them. Thanks for that one too.

Dave, this is a very good example of why I make a point to give you fellows credit for helping to teach me whenever I post pics of a new knife of mine.

Roger
 
Roger you sure make me feel good, but I'm just limping along trying to soak up as much as I can. It's rare I can give anything back and I sure hope I never miss a chance to do it! Keep showing us your great knives.

I've always wanted a nice height gauge and granite block, I'm making do with the slate from a pool table left here when we bought the house. :)

Dave
 
Dave,

For our purposes a pool table slate should be quite accurate enough. It is, however, a shame to waste a slate top pool table. I'll shot ya a game for a knife.
 
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