Tips for a new maker doing a hidden tang?

S

SLC_Blades

Joined
Aug 20, 2018
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65
Hey everyone

As the title suggests, I’m a relatively new maker (about 9 months now) looking to build my first hidden tang soon. Before I attempt this, I thought I’d add to the research I’ve already done by asking around.

My main concern is guard fitup. I’ve seen several tutorials online about this but would like some second opinions. From what I’ve seen, most people grind a taper in the tang (in both directions) but leave the very top (uppermost 1/16”) unground. The guard slot is then filed and checked repeatedly until the guard reaches this unground portion, and then it is hammered the rest of the way. Is this correct/accurate?

Finally, any common mistakes to avoid? I plan to practice with some mild steel and cheap handle material because I assume it’ll take a few attempts for me to get the fitup down.

Thanks!
 
Anything that was done, making full tang knives, does not apply. The work you do on the ricasso is time well spent. If this is a forged blade, check the thickness on both edges, make sure they are the same. In hidden tang knives, the condition of the ricasso is everything. Make it flat, make it square and make the surface smooth, take it to 400 grit; now you are ready to fit the guard and shape the tang. Tapering the tang a small amount, you want the guard to be very snug as it approaches the shoulders. There are different ways to file shoulders. I put a flange all the way around. If you get the seating right, the blade will disappear into the guard. Use copper for the first few guards on hidden tang blades.
I soften the spine and ricasso area on htk's. soften the tang itself all the way to the end. When fitting up the handle guard, spacer and the like; use alignment pins so as to make it go together when you are ready to glue and pin the knife.
Hidden tang knives are a little more of a challenge, but your chances of making a stellar knife are much improved. Full tang knives are very solid, where as a hidden tang knife takes a bit more planning to make sure the overall structure of the knife, comes off as being well balanced and secure.
Enjoy the process, Fred
 
Fred.Rowe said:
Anything that was done, making full tang knives, does not apply. The work you do on the ricasso is time well spent. If this is a forged blade, check the thickness on both edges, make sure they are the same. In hidden tang knives, the condition of the ricasso is everything. Make it flat, make it square and make the surface smooth, take it to 400 grit; now you are ready to fit the guard and shape the tang. Tapering the tang a small amount, you want the guard to be very snug as it approaches the shoulders. There are different ways to file shoulders. I put a flange all the way around. If you get the seating right, the blade will disappear into the guard. Use copper for the first few guards on hidden tang blades.
I soften the spine and ricasso area on htk's. soften the tang itself all the way to the end. When fitting up the handle guard, spacer and the like; use alignment pins so as to make it go together when you are ready to glue and pin the knife.
Hidden tang knives are a little more of a challenge, but your chances of making a stellar knife are much improved. Full tang knives are very solid, where as a hidden tang knife takes a bit more planning to make sure the overall structure of the knife, comes off as being well balanced and secure.
Enjoy the process, Fred
Click to expand...
Thank you so much, that was very helpful
 
One big error new makers do is make the tang much wider than it needs to be. If it starts out at 1/2" and ends up at 1/4" it is more than big enough.
 
I have an xy vise and some cheap end mills for the slot. I make it a bit too small and burn the rest in. Check out this video for an easy construction method.

 
Do yourself a favor and spend 75 bucks on a file guild from bill behnke. Worth every penny and will save you an insane amount of headaches
 
A nice broach ( thanks kiraki) helps. You can also make one from a sawzall blade . Grind away all but the three teeth at the tip. I do kitchen knives like Scott Kozub shows above.
 
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