Bag Knife Project - Tang Too Short?

[fischereco2]

Hey all,

After remodeling my forge yesterday I decided to make a quick blade. I've been needing a good little knife for my shooting bag so I found a piece of antler and made a small little 4.5" blade to match. I'm a little worried my tang is too short though. Do you think with a small blade like this a quarter tang with a rivet will be enough to make it stable?

I could draw out the tang more but I have already heat treated the blade so I'm hoping it will be sufficient. I feel like I've seen some original knives with very short tangs like this but of course I can't find any of them now.

 

[LRB]

I wouldn't trust it. Instead of drawing the tang out longer, how about bringing the blade shoulder/heel forward some? Maybe 1/2", or enough to get two rivets through the grip and tang, or do that and trim the tang to maybe 3/8" wide and make it a hidden tang with one rivet.

 

[fischereco2]

See that's why I ask these dumb questions because my mind always goes straight to the hardest solution lol.

I moved the shoulder up about half an inch and it looks way better, can definitely get two rivets in there now. I'll post some pics of the finished blade when I'm done.

 

[blacksmith123]

the tang is way to short the knife will not be sturdy enough in my opinion.The knife is a good design though

 

[Rifleman1776]

I'm a little worried my tang is too short though.

Dangerously short.
I have had (commercial made) short tang knives and carving tools break on me. :shocked2: Pure luck I was never injured.

 

[Brasilikilt]

Why not make it a folder?
And as a guy who has forged many a blades himself, I have corrected more than a few "whoops" moments after heat treat by wrapping the blade in a wet rag and heating the tang with a torch.... Just sayin'

 

[eggwelder]

What wick said. shorten the blade, lengthen the tang. I`ve made several short tang light duty blades, but never a tang that short.

 

[fischereco2]

Yeah, I don't know what I was smoking. This is the first time I've ever made a knife like this so I severely underestimated the amount of tang I needed when I lopped the end off!

I took Wick's advice and moved the shoulder up nearly an inch. Got the slot for the blade cut out and fitted last night. Doing that was a little shaky, it fits tightly but there's kind of a gap at the top. I'm flirting with the idea of cutting off that top section and doing some kind of poured pewter bolster or something to remove the gap. I think I could still get two iron pins in the tang underneath the bolster. Decisions decisions...

 

[crockett]

Actually, I sort of like the folder idea. I'd at least think about it. You would need to saw a slot in the antler and I'd use a metal ferrule over the front. You notch the top of the tang such that the blade rotates up until the notch hits the ferrule and stops. File the notch short and then test fit and keep extending the notch forward until the blade stops in the proper position. The big deal is to cut the slot just right. If the slot is a little too wide (I've done that) you can put some very thin washers on either side of the blade. On these friction type knives- peen hammer the rivet just enough so the blade doesn't flop around. I say that because in a few instances the friction actually tightens up with age (I thought it would loosen). You can sew a sheath on the bag to stick the folded knife into- so it won't open.

 

[fischereco2]

I like the folding idea too. Actually, the funny thing is this knife was sort of a break from a folding knife project I'm already working on. Maybe that was still on my brain....

 

[fischereco2]

So I lengthened the tang and finished the knife up. I made a very stupid error though. I didn't take into account that by moving the shoulder up the new tang would be made of former blade that was quenched. So when it came time to drill the holes for my pewter bolster and the pins I had one hell of a time getting through the steel. I ended up using a masonry bit and that chewed through it like nothing, but I burnt several other drill bits before that. I won't make that mistake again...

Anyway, as promised here are some pictures. I tend to be my own worst critic but I think it came out okay. As always I need to improve my fit and finish, my lines, blade profiles, etc...

 

[flattail]

That turned out fine! :thumbsup: I like it when one can salvage something nice out of a mistake.
:applause:
Ed

 

[BrownBear]

I wouldn't toss it into a lake. :wink:

 

[LRB]

Turned out very nice. Looks good.

 

[Curt]

Looks like a nice deer skinner to me .Nice work. Curt

 

[Katahdin]

Looks great to me.If that knife won't do the job,,your asking it to do something it was not designed for.
Perfect size.I like my knives to have hilts,just me,helps prevent my hand slipping up the blade.
Very nice knife.

 

[airborne1]

Great looking knife! I agree with shortening the blade to get two pins inserted. The blade style looks good and you should have a nice user blade. What did you finish the antler with? Also, did you epoxy the tang along with pins? Thanks for sharing.

 

[BillinOregon]

That's one handsome knife, and the antler handle has a perfect contour.

 

[LRB]

Epoxy seals and most often adds strength in grip attachments, BUT, don't let molten pewter contact it. It melts, turns to gas , and can spew all over like a miniature volcano. Been there, done that.

 

[fischereco2]

I did not use epoxy. I actually drilled a small hole vertically on either side of the slab so that when I poured the bolster the pewter would flow downward and surround each pin. So the tang is sandwiched between antler very tightly, in the center it is sandwiched between pewter, and it's held in place by pins which are also held by pewter. Not sure if I've explained that well at all, but it's very secure. In fact since it is my knife I tried my very best to move the blade and I couldn't get it to budge whatsoever, even in a vice cranking on it.

I normally use epoxy but I didn't want to deal with the bubbling/melting issue Wick described.

As far as the handle goes it was bone white when I got it. I hit it lightly with a torch to yellow it and then gave it a coat of brown leather dye. To finish it I simply buffed it with Tripoli on the buffing wheel and finished with a coat of Carnuba wax. I'm not sure if that's a decent finish or not for antler handles but it seems to work fine.