Why so Many Hidden Tangs

There are makers that work wonders with full tang knives, there is no doubt. But imho, hidden tang knives present a greater challenge as well as more options in the finished product.

When I take a prized piece of horn or stabilized burl from the shelf, looking to see if it works with a new damascus bowie I'm working on, the thought of cutting it up, not using it in its natural state just doesn't come to mind . Why cut up perfection?
That's my thinking, too. An exibition grade piece of handle material is going to lose some when cut for a full tang. A fella can match up the pieces to look pretty good, but that only goes so far because of the missing center section that ends up as sawdust.

Barring flaws in the steel, properly hidden pins and using good epoxy will result in a strong enough handle for a user knife. Most of my clients use their knives and I haven't heard any complaints. I have been making a number of hidden tangs for over 20 years, off and on.

For full tangs, I use hidden pins. I don't like defacing a good looking handle with visible pins.
 
However, when you are trying to lighten up the handle and you remove a bunch of metal to do so, you are losing strength.

Not that I really want to have a dog in this hunt- but - mechanically speaking, the above thought is incorrect. Think I-beam.... the stress forces travel along the outer edges of the beam hence the thickness or amount of material requirement in the middle is minimal. Same with a full tang. If you almost mill out the handle area only leaving the outer rim of appropriate thickness with a few bridges between, you would have not lessened the strength along the axis of the blade. One might could argue some marginal degree of lateral weakening but then you also must consider all the other parts of the finished knife are contributing to the overall strength of the unit - just like a building. The scales, epoxy, pins, etc all are contributing to the strength. This same principle holds true for a hidden tang - all parts contribute depending on their attachment to each other. Weak attachment=weak point. The strength problem in a hidden-tang comes from - as has been displayed- the stress risers created in the metal at the attachment/transition point of the guard and handle. The better the handle/guard/blade attachment is here, the stronger the UNIT becomes.

As to why there are more one than the other....IMO, that's what folks thinklooks cooler, sells better, or seems of higher craftsmanship. I could argue those points with either design. Just because something is more difficult to accomplish doesn't always make it better.....how hard was it to make a DeLorean?

now if you really want to ramp this debate up, start arguing about the strength differences in tapered tangs and hollowed tangs.....:20:
 
Back
Top