Lets talk about tangs....

[Stonedog]

Fellows-

Here in the Colonies, the full tang seems to be "the Knife"...and many, myself included are or were reluctant to use a knife with a narrow thru tang (like a good scandi has)....now I am almost convinced of the narrow thru tang after using my new Roselli leuku and pukko knives that I handled myself with hickory handle...

Over here a lot of bushcraft folks tout only the full tang....period.....but then they torture test them by chopping thre concrete blocks and the like....

Anyway....I see more narrow tangs on this site and from my Euorpean counterparts than full tangs....I wonder why that is??

What do you like and why?

Stonedog

 

[Ogri the trog]

Hi Stonedog and welcome to BCUK,
What do I look for in a knife? Good steel and a handle to fit my hand, and that I "like" it.
If you get a stick tang, it'll be plenty strong enough for most jobs, though hacking through concrete blocks doesn't fit with what I'd call "Bushcraft!"
It sounds as though, once those people find the breaking point of a knife - they're left with a broken knife and nothing to cut with, a bit excessive really.

Anyway, all the best

Ogri the trog

 

[C_Claycomb]

I have never heard of anyone proffessing to be into bushcraft doing anything as dumb as chopping concrete. I have however heard of people who are into "Survival" doing things like that. There is a fairly big difference which has been discussed here at length. It is a popular subject so it might kick off again.

As for tangs, your own Wayne Goddard is an advocate of narrow tangs. You can make a hidden, narrow tang strong enough to chop bricks (if that's your thing ), but you can also make it lighter than a full tang model. Weight is a big deal if you have to haul a knife around. I often wonder how many of the brick choppers actually get dragged through the bush for real, not just an hour or two from the truck. Narrow tangs make lighter, warmer, more comfortable, easier to adjust, and more moisture resistant knives than full-exposed tangs do.

There is also the influence of the Scandinavians here. They have been using such knives a long time and the European is nothing if not a lover of traditionally proven kit

A small knife ballances better with a narrow tang. A big 6" plus camp knife is harder to ballance without adding weight if it isn't full tang.

 

[Nemisis]

I fail to see the point in destroying a prefectly good knife in this way. Say you did it to test a knives strength too that point 1 most of us would never be in such a life threatening position as to even need to take a knife to that point. 2 who's to say the next knife of the same type brand etc would pass the same test without destroying that one too? Or is this a new type of bushcraft my knife is king in the urban jungle?

 

[george]

Hi Stonedog and welcome.

I use both full tang and hidden tang knives when I'm out and about.

I tend to take a full tang (usually a falkniven F1) if I'm not taking an axe - that way I know that I'm not going to trash it if I want to baton some firewood or something. I know that hidden tangs can be used , it's just that I feel happier with a full tang in that situation.

However usually I'll be taking an axe with me for heavier stuff if I'm going out for more than one night, so I'll take one of my hidden tang scandi's for any cutting or carving. They're much lighter than the F1 so it helps to mitigate the extra weight of the axe. I prefer to wear my knife in a neck sheath these days - so the lighter the better. Usually a Frosts of some sort or a Karesuando.

Just my take on it.

George

 

[happy camper]

hi
i'm only guessing, so please correct me if i'm wide of the mark, but i had assumed one advantage of the hidden tang was that in sub zero temps. your hands would not come into contact with the very cold metal that is usually exposed on a full tang handle.

 

[Lord Farquhar]

hi
i'm only guessing, so please correct me if i'm wide of the mark, but i had assumed one advantage of the hidden tang was that in sub zero temps. your hands would not come into contact with the very cold metal that is usually exposed on a full tang handle.

I supose it could be an advantage but I think the stick tang is more to do with economics more than anything. Good carbon steel is expencive relative to wood and other materials so making a knife with the least ammount of steel makes sence when steel is rare and hard to work.

 

[Hoodoo]

I appreciate the light weight and balance of a stick tang knife. I also like the warmth of the handle. Coffin tangs like those found on Allan Blade knives, have the best of everything, imo.

When I'm planning a trip into the bush and I expect to come across concrete blocks, I always throw a trowel into my pack and a sack of concrete mix.

 

[Graywolf]

Now I have realised something since being involved with this forum,Everybody loves a argument for the most ridiculous reason ,now as for chopping concrete blocks do you believe this ?as for type of knife ,personally if I like it I use it ,if it fits my hand the weight and balance after all its a personal thing.I would not buy a knife just because its lightweight.
Clayton

 

[Lord Farquhar]

I think the point of chopping at concrete is to test the knife. I do not believe however that the maker who is testing is thinking that the knife will be used this way. The maker uses such extreme tests to see how well he can control the strength of the steel.

 

[Stonedog]

Ummm, err, well I guess I should have said that I have no intention of EVER chopping thru a concrete or cinder block....

If I chop thru anything it will be wood or various wild game meats....as I am a hunter....

Chopping with a knife would be limited to brush, small wood and batonning kindling.....which the Roselli 8" leuku can handle with ease....that is one tough, tough knife....

Anything thing bigger than wrist size gets whacked with the Wetterling LHA or my folding saw....

 

[twelveboar]

I think a neat handle on a stick tang looks so much better than a full tang, and feels much nicer in the hand. I have no reason or logic to explain this, I just prefer them.
I suppose it's a lot easier to reprofile the wooden handle also, should you want to, and I often do.