Thong hole or not?

I like thong hole as well. But in looking at your knife I can not see putting one on it. The knife looks to small for one. And I do not think it would look right. You may want to on a bigger knife. But that's just what I see. :thumbup:
 
I'd add one.

Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

Personally, I never use one -but customers, that's another story.
 
Me personaly on that style I would probably put a thong hole, but with the position of your handle screws now I would probably leave it as is. I normaly put a thong hole and tube in place of a handle pin or bolt. I normaly use a wood spade bit and turn it by hand to remove just enough material to flar the thong tube just a bit with a polished punch. Then again it's your knife, look at it and try to picture it with a thong hole and without and worst case built one of each and see which you like better. Like Flatgrinder, I personaly never use on, unless it's a little bob to help remove the knife from the sheath!
 
I usually don't like putting a thong hole on hunters or kitchen knives because it leaves a place for bacteria to grow and can be difficult to clean out properly (I use a gun cleaning rod when I clean them out after buffing), but on utility and camp knives, they give the customer a retention method to keep from losing their knife when chopping, working at heights (in a treestand or up a ladder), or around water (I know I'm not the only one to lose a knife or a set of pliers down the hole while ice fishing). It all depends on what the customer prefers or what they'll use it for.

Nathan
 
Uh ... isn't that a lanyard hole? When I first read the words "thong hole" I thought of something quite unrelated to knives. :D
 
Dr Mudd, I've heard the terms used interchangeably...though I'm not above using a little tongue in cheek to get some attention.:D

Thanks for the input. This is a knife I'm making for myself, and I'm my own worst customer.:foot:
 
Dr. Mudd said:
Uh ... isn't that a lanyard hole? When I first read the words "thong hole" I thought of something quite unrelated to knives. :D
Click to expand...

It is a thong hole. A lanyard is what you put in it.
(You say tomato, I say tomahto...) :)

Craig
 
Use that bit of steel sticking out on top of the knife for the lanyard/thong hole. If you want to get fancy make the hole a little triangular that matches the arc of the handles.

FB
 
The intention is to grind that extra (still annealed thankfully) steel back to a smooth contour. It is not obvious but the tang is only approx. 1/2 the width of the handle. I think leaving it long in any form on the spine side will cause it to dig into the hand during use. This is my first knife I have made especially for me (the rest went out as gifts), so I intend to use it hard this deer season.

Also, with the shallow tang the thong hole would be through all handle material with no 'bracing' against steel, so it might (I think) cause a weakness if I am not careful in positioning it. This mesquite has a fair amount of swirl in the grain...good for looks but not so good for strength. The thong tubing would act as a (weak) pin, but still, it might also make a weak spot that could cause a chunk of handle to chip out. This mesquite I have is dang hard stuff...

And so I keep going back and forth...put it in, leave it out. Isn't this fun!:D
 
What Will52100 said. Normally on this knife I would say yes but your current pin positioning does not allow for it. I do not think you would be happy with the look of it afterwards. Leave it alone and fix it in advance on the next.:thumbup:
Matt
 
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