Full tang vs hidden. Difficulty?
- Thread starter knosaj
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Mike Martinez
Well-Known Member
Jason, I do a ton of hidden tang for Japanese knives and they aren't any harder or easier than full tangs. Lately I do prefer hidden tangs just because they allow you to keep the integrity of the wood intact. There are a few good WIPs out there and a video or two. Google Nick Wheeler hidden tang.
A full tang requires a drill press, and for the handle materials and tang to be perfectly flat. A hidden tang requires a long drill bit, a drill and a broach. I too prefer to make hidden tang knives, but I do not really think they are easier to make, especially if there is a guard... but then again, guards can be difficult on full tang knives, too. I think it is good to be familiar and capable with both types in order to be a well-rounded maker.
theWeatherman
Well-Known Member
I think there is just a different thought process with a hidden tang compared to a full tang knife. It takes a little more detail and thought to get the knife to fit correctly. You do need a longer drill bit as well, a broach isn't required but will HELP TREMENDOUSLY! For some reason I just like hidden tang knives.
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Doug Lester
Well-Known Member
A broach is a tool used to carve out the channel for the tang. I think Riverside Machine Shop sells a pattern of them. Others have ground them down from small saber saw blades leaving just 2 or 3 teeth and reducing the over all width or just cutting it from thin narrow stock and heat treating it. You can use them to enlarge a single hole or two connect two that have been drilled close together.
Another way that way posted by, I believe, Dave Stephens, is to drill a hole in the block for the than just slightly greater in diameter than the width of the tang and filling it with epoxy putty. You then coat the tang with petroleum jelly as a release agent and stick that into the epoxy until the blade is where you want it. You then remove the blade and let the epoxy cure. Later, when you do your final assembly, you just use a regular epoxy to glue the tang back in. Of course you will want a guard or something over the end of the handle to hide the epoxied hole.
Things to remember with a stick tang. One is that they need not be supper long, 2 1/2" will put it under most of your hand. It can, however, go all the way through the handle and be secured with a nut or peened onto a peening plate or block on the butt of the handle. If you want to make it longer, you can but it's more work and it will require extended bits. Drill with standard bits first to get your holes started straight and then go to extended bits. Even with extended handles you shouldn't have to make you tang over 6" long unless you're making a through tang on a extra long handle like some of the long bladed seax's.
Round the shoulders of the blade where it is joined by the tang. The greater the radius the less of a stress riser but the harder the fit to any furniture but don't let it be square. Use a square and a filing jig to keep the shoulders of the blade even. Don't make the tang too thin or too narrow which will be defined by the size and the intended use of the blade. It's also a good idea to put at least one pin through the tang for safety.
Doug
Another way that way posted by, I believe, Dave Stephens, is to drill a hole in the block for the than just slightly greater in diameter than the width of the tang and filling it with epoxy putty. You then coat the tang with petroleum jelly as a release agent and stick that into the epoxy until the blade is where you want it. You then remove the blade and let the epoxy cure. Later, when you do your final assembly, you just use a regular epoxy to glue the tang back in. Of course you will want a guard or something over the end of the handle to hide the epoxied hole.
Things to remember with a stick tang. One is that they need not be supper long, 2 1/2" will put it under most of your hand. It can, however, go all the way through the handle and be secured with a nut or peened onto a peening plate or block on the butt of the handle. If you want to make it longer, you can but it's more work and it will require extended bits. Drill with standard bits first to get your holes started straight and then go to extended bits. Even with extended handles you shouldn't have to make you tang over 6" long unless you're making a through tang on a extra long handle like some of the long bladed seax's.
Round the shoulders of the blade where it is joined by the tang. The greater the radius the less of a stress riser but the harder the fit to any furniture but don't let it be square. Use a square and a filing jig to keep the shoulders of the blade even. Don't make the tang too thin or too narrow which will be defined by the size and the intended use of the blade. It's also a good idea to put at least one pin through the tang for safety.
Doug
Stew
Well-Known Member
Difficulty depends on how good a result you want at the end.
A hidden tang in it's basic form can be the easiest - drill a hole, push the tang in, rivet the end over or put wedges in the front if the tang doesn't go all the way through.
I definitely think that a hidden tang can be harder though, if you're aiming to a high standard. A full tang knife is quite basic - large flat surface against large flat surface, drill some holes though, glue and shape - the exposed tang works as a guideline for symmetry. A hidden tang has more areas to go wrong, imo. Guard/bolster needs to be perpendicular to the blade, not just pushed up to it. Handle symmetry is harder to see without marking out and lots of checking.
Both are fun though.
A hidden tang in it's basic form can be the easiest - drill a hole, push the tang in, rivet the end over or put wedges in the front if the tang doesn't go all the way through.
I definitely think that a hidden tang can be harder though, if you're aiming to a high standard. A full tang knife is quite basic - large flat surface against large flat surface, drill some holes though, glue and shape - the exposed tang works as a guideline for symmetry. A hidden tang has more areas to go wrong, imo. Guard/bolster needs to be perpendicular to the blade, not just pushed up to it. Handle symmetry is harder to see without marking out and lots of checking.
Both are fun though.