Try something new, for me anyway

S

squawsach

Joined
Dec 2, 2008
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19
I've made a few knives and I like to try different things. I haven't settled on any one style. I see features on knives posted on the web and try use the features I like on one of my future builds. I decided to make a knife with a tapered tang. I've never done that before. I had a piece of ATS-34 laying around so I designed a profile and cut it out. The handle was drilled for pins and a few extra hole were added. I used a small wheel to hollow out the center of the tang, scribed my linea on the back of the tang and started grinding my first tapered tang. I'm done with the grinding and now I have a question.

Why would anyone do this more than once? Tapering a tang is a huge pain in the a$$. I thought it was going to be easy. How hard could it be? Just grind a big flat spot on both sides of the tang. I have a headache now.

The knife will get completed and I'll post pics when done. I'll be sure to save a pic for myself of the only tapered tang knife I ever made.
 
LMAO. I'm in the same boat as you, man. I have yet to taper a tang properly. I'm currently working on a re-handle project for a client... his knife has a poorly-done tapered tang and it's driving me batty. :( It's uneven and even if I could get both sides flat, it would be wayyyy too thin. Luckily he understood when I told him this, and is OK with a few gaps between the tang and scales. Hopefully the epoxy will fill the gaps. But I don't like it one bit.

I generally just drill plenty of holes in full tangs to keep weight down/help with balance. Unfortunately, tapered tangs are highly-sought-after by some buyers/collectors, so I will just have to practice much more and learn to do them right.

FWIW, a disc grinder is generally easier to get nice flats/tapers on than a belt/platen.

Any tips from the pro's will be greatly appreciated!
 
Grinding the taper is easy. Wait until you start drilling holes for pins and thong tubes

Greg
 
Yeah... tapering a tang goes pretty quick for me on the KMG. Way faster than drilling a bunch of holes... but I actually do both. I taper mainly for weight reduction (and because I think it adds to the overall aesthetic) and drill holes mainly for additional epoxy bonding. Throw a 50-grit 977 on an 8" wheel and grind the starter-hollow and follow up with the same 50-grit on the flat platen (I use a 200lb magnet from HF to hold the blade while doing this grinding). Even out the flats on a disc after HT.

Everything is easier when you know how... especially if you have a good teacher to point you in the right direction. I have to thank Mr. Wheeler for his tang-tapering instruction. :thumbup:

Erin
 
G. Shahan said:
Grinding the taper is easy. Wait until you start drilling holes for pins and thong tubes

Greg
Click to expand...

LMAO! :D No kidding. :D

Please don't think that I think I'm special, because I know how lowly and common I really am - but personally I think tapering the tang is essential. Not just for reducing weight in the handle, but for showing your customers that you can do it - 'cause it ain't easy. I just think it's the "makerly" thing to do. ;) That being said, I don't know that it's necessary for 1/8" stock. I usually only do it on 3/16" or thicker steel.

My goal is to get it as thin as I can, and when I pull it off well it really makes me feel good. This is my personal camping knife, and one that went together so well I went around grinning all day. That's because there are 47 pins in the handle! Family wondered what I'd been up to, but my happiness was legit. :D

101Sm.jpg


For what it's worth I do remember the first time I tried tapering a tang and had much the same response as you guys. I just think it's worth doing more than once. ;) Hang in there.

One caveat - it does add a lot of time to my knives that I probably don't get "paid" for. I could make a whole lot more knives if I used thinner stock and didn't bother with things like this. I'm not making a living from knives, I just do it for my personal satisfaction. So to the extent someone's in a production mode this might not be a rational choice. Just my thought. I'm only doing this for fun.

Hm. Tapering tangs for "fun"? I'm gonna shut up now.
 
I guess it is whatever floats your boat. :) I only make knives as a hobby and give them away. Since I don't care for tapered tangs I'm not going to deal with the problems of making them.
 
I forged 6 tapered tang blades on the weekend and didn't find it that difficult. Just another excuse to pound on the metal some more, which is ++. :)
 
Dave that knife is georgous! Its evident the tapered tang is a huge asset. Those pins are just plain showing off man! I love it.

To properly taper a tang is the next step of accomplishment for a maker. Its challenging at first but worth the effort in every case. Classic hunting knives are tapered and hold their value. You can charge more money if properly tapered. The balance point can be adjusted perfectly by tapering and drilling for heavy handle materials. Plus.....Bob Loveless tapers tangs. I know I'm ABS but Loveless knives are so sexy, even the old girls he made still look beautiful.
 
Dave,that Knife is awesome. I would like to see the jig you use to get all those pins at
90 deg. to the center line.

Thanks

Greg
 
Thanks for the kinds words gents, yer making me blush. :) It occurred to me that most people - well, probably no one - would know what Beautiful Joe means. It's a book from the 1920s (I think) about a dog, Beautiful Joe, who had been horribly maimed by a cruel master; but he was just a wonderful animal - kind and generous with a huge spirit. So that's how he got his name. My dad had that book from his childhood around our house all the time I was growing up and I never have forgotten it. I called this knife Beautiful Joe because it's so ugly, but (hoping here) will do me right. ;) Usually if I name a knife, it's from a book somehow.

Greg, all I do to align the centerline of the knife to the drill press table is superglue a bit of a popsicle stick to the end of the scale. It's about the same thickness as the amount of steel I've ground off each side of the tang. Works like a charm. Hope that helps.

Thanks again guys.
 
Dave,
Thats about the same sort of thing I do.
You wouldn't believe the trouble my dumb a$$ had trying to figure that out.:(

Thanks

Greg
 
Dave is one of the best tang taper's around. I got to see some of his highly coveted work a few months back in Michigan. Exceptional work and a master with the grinder!
 
ddavelarsen said:
Greg, all I do to align the centerline of the knife to the drill press table is superglue a bit of a popsicle stick to the end of the scale. It's about the same thickness as the amount of steel I've ground off each side of the tang. Works like a charm. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. The pin-work on that knife is really amazing! Did you use a caliper or something to lay it out so evenly? It seems it would be best to mark and drill the tang while it's still flat; is that how you did it?

I agree that tapered tangs are great for balance, and just plain look cool. As Mr. Bump said, they're an established mark of quality and craftsmanship.

Just because I can't do them, doesn't mean I shouldn't learn how. I'll keep practicing and try y'all's tips. :)
 
James you're right, all the holes are drilled before grinding anything. The thing that makes this knife un-sellable is that I did get two of the pins out of alignment. Pi$$ed me off, and for the life of me I could not think of a way to move the holes in a way I thought I could line them up on both scales. So I just left them. I made it for myself anyway, and it's a lesson in being careful and "measuring twice."

This thing used 4 1/2 feet of wire for the small pins. :D
 
The first hand made knife I ever held had a tapered tang, and in looking at it, I couldn't figure out why it looked so good, until I figured out the tang was tapered. Right then, I knew I'd give it a try eventually. Eventually has arrived, but only after a lot of thinking on how to get it done.

Check out this thread for pics.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=653590

Here's my process:

Drill the holes in the tang before tapering. That way, they are perpendicular. The pins are 3/32" nickel silver, and the thong tube is 1/4" OD tube.

I used a #41 drill bit for the pins, and a size "F" drill for the thong tube.

Taper the tang. I drilled and tapped a couple of holes to match an adjustable fixture I made. The tapped holes hold the blade to the fixture, and after tapering one side I had to adjust the fixture for the first tapered side mating up with the taper. My adjustment is controlled by a 10-32 screw, so one turn of the screw moves the fixture by approximately .030". Adjustment is a trial and (hopefully no) error process.

Drill the holes in the scales. I profiled the scales then made sure they were flat, with no burrs on the edges. I clamped the blade on top of the first scale, then used the existing hole on the blade to drill thru the first scale. After each hole was drilled, I dropped a pin through to maintain alignment.

For the second scale, I used the first scale and the blade clamped on top of the second, and used my existing holes as guides to drill the second set of holes, always dropping a pin in the hole I just drilled.

This process results in pins that are perpendicular to the entire blade. The pins are NOT perpendicular to the tapered portion of the tang.

I was very pleased with the results. When gluing up the handles, I had no issues with pin alignment, and hopefully you can see from the pics how well the pins fit their holes. I am in the process of making four knives of this style, all with tapered tangs.

I'd definitely do it again. It is more work, but in my mind it is so worth it.

Also, I just have a very simple drill press, so my equipment is not precise by any means. My point being, if I can do this, anyone who puts their mind to it can.
 
Pardon my ignorance and the OT but if the primary purpose of those little pins/wire is embellishment, do they really need to go through the tang.

I think if I were going to do that, I'd drill through the block of material before cutting it into slabs, use a couple of hidden pins for mechanical/sheer strength and the embellishment pins would only be in each slab and not go through the tang.
 
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