useage of knife frame handle?

Because of the additional work, materials and costs involved. am I right in assuming that today only Custom knives use a frame handle?
Or are there any production knives that use this method?
 
KenHash said:
Because of the additional work, materials and costs involved. am I right in assuming that today only Custom knives use a frame handle?
Or are there any production knives that use this method?
Click to expand...
When you see a knike built like this one:
IMG_0166.jpeg

Then it's most likely a frame handle has there isn't much of another way to get that gard in there.
And that's not a highly prized custom, that knife retail for the bargain sum of $19.99
 
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Floatingby said:
When you see a knike built like this one:
IMG_0166.jpeg

Then it's most likely a frame handle has there isn't much of another way to get that gard in there.
And that's not a highly prized custom, that knife retail for the bargain sum of $19.99
Click to expand...
Which is fine for a wall-hanger. Certainly seems like more points of possible failure, even when done right.
Does that place reliability somewhere between a full-tang fixed blade and a folder?
 
irsh said:
Which is fine for a wall-hanger. Certainly seems like more points of possible failure, even when done right.
Does that place reliability somewhere between a full-tang fixed blade and a folder?
Click to expand...
It's a hidden tang blade, so it's as strong as the same hidden tang knife without a frame, which are generally weaker than a full tang but much stronger than folders. Generally.
But then you have to know which full tang vs which hidden tang vs which folder; if you've ever watched destructive testing done to knives, you'd know they vary wildely, and sometime you get surprising result. For example I've seen a bend test done to a Buck 119, a hidden tang construction knife. You would expect the tip of the blade or the junction between the ricasso and the tang to break first, but no, the knife broke at the begining of the grind just ahead of the ricasso.
 
Floatingby said:
When you see a knike built like this one:
Then it's most likely a frame handle has there isn't much of another way to get that gard in there.
And that's not a highly prized custom, that knife retail for the bargain sum of $19.99
Click to expand...
Thanks. Yes, that's certainly a production knife and I see what you mean about fitting the guard.
Unfortunately that particular example is notone that I'd have much to do with.
What I was wondering was whether any higher quality, known and respected production knives use a frame handle.
You know, brand names with which we may be familiar.
 
Sometimes what appears to be a full-tang is neither a full-tang nor a "frame handle".

This is a picture of a cheap fixed-blade that I briefly owned (Rough Rider, advertised as "full-tang"). As you can see, and as I discovered when I removed the handles, there is a partial tang, and then after the guard was installed a separate piece of steel was welded onto the partial tang giving the appearance of a full-tang (the weld at the butt end was ground seamless). I've seen this method used on other cheap fixed-blades that appear to be full-tang.

This knife went into the garbage, for a variety of reasons. Cost me $20.

Ahh the secrets that knives can hold. Sometimes you just don't know what you have until you remove the handle.

4B3woJx.jpg
 
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Back in the day, steel was a premium commodity. It also tarnished, rusted, and/or patina’d.
Steel for the blade, nickel silver for the handle frame that wouldn’t patina and keep looking good no matter how much it was handled.
Framed handle construction for strength.
Back then people staked their lives on this construction method.
Full tangs came about because of affordable & availabile steel, and more importantly, ease of manufacture. Especially mass manufacture.
 
There's a good article about them in blade magazine October 2021/issue!!!!
 
This was a very interesting thread. I learned a lot. Thanks everyone!
 
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