Where should a knifes weight be? And how heavy?

B

blandies

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Aug 18, 2011
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After grinding everything and getting it ready to send out for heat treat I went ahead and wrapped up the handle as if it were finished to see how it looked and felt. The first thing I noticed was it was a bit hefty in the handle and the first thing my wife said when she held it was "wow this is heavy". probably not good for a knife to be heavy huh?

Is handle weight good or do I want the weight in the blade? Should I drill holes to lighten it up a bit? I don't have much room on the handle for many holes as it's about a 3" blade and 4" handle. I also don't want holes showing through the paracord wrap cracks as that's what my handle material is.

.. want to get this right before heat treatment. It seems the weight is distributed evenly and the knife balances on my finger right in the center just by visually looking.
 
generally, a knife balances near the handle, not in the middle.

A well balanced blade will normally feel "light" in the hand regardless of its acual weight.
I have made six pound swords that feel like a feather in your hand due to good balance. I also have made big bowie monsters that felt like an anchor, even though they weighed about 2 pounds.
 
What's the knife for? That's going to help determine where the balance should be. Choppers, machetes, swords, and hunting knives are all very different, in many ways, but also in their balance point.
In general, pretend to do the chores it's going to do, and get a feel for where the balance point should be. I'm no expert, but that's where I'd start. Or, go handle similar sized knifes that are made to do the same tasks.
 
Well this knife definitely feels heavy in the hand so I feel I need to do something about it. It's a little every day utility knife for every day tasks and looks like it could be used as a small defensive knife too. I pretended to cut and stab and it seems some of that handle weight should be taken down. Its a drop point blade.
 
Light is Right, although "light" isn't just the number of ounces... As Stacy said, even very large blades can feel surprisingly light and lively if built right. I would take a well-balanced knife made of an old leaf spring over a clumsy, heavy one made of the finest powder steel. And I must say, I've examined some gorgeous, very expensive handmade knives built with the best materials that nonetheless felt like a dang brick in the hand. :mad:

A good rule of thumb for a utility or hunting knife is a balance point close to where it rests on your index finger. Of course choppers and big fighters benefit from a balance point ahead of the guard for more "oomph".

Tapering a full tang helps quite a bit. But if you want to cordwrap it, drilling holes may be your only option. At least the cord itself won't add much weight; ironwood, G10 and other materials can be pretty heavy.

EDIT: this current thread shows good examples of removing weight from tangs to improve balance. :thumbup:
 
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A couple of ideas you might think about. If you drill out the handle and do not want the holes to show you can do a few things to hide them. One is use black grip tape on the handle on both sides and wrap the paracord over it. Grip tape is tough and meant to be used outside. Another option is pick up some "Nylon Crochet thread" it is a very small diameter cord and you can get it in several colors at Walmart. Wrap the handle with the crochet cord and then give it a coat of cyanoacralate and let it harden until you can not smell it any more. Then wrap your paracord over it.

This way you will have a light thin base that will cover the holes and look nice with the paracord over it.
 
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