rehandling a parang...

[forrestdweller]

i need to rehandle my parang as the blade has gotten loose. i intend to remove the buffalo horn handle and pour some epoxy into the hole; to be on the safe side i'd like to secure the blade with an extra 4mm brass pin as well(only size i have available).
unfortunately i have no carbide drillbit available- does anyone know if parangs are fully heatreated or only the blade?! i remember reading somewhere that traditionally the tangs are heated, then pushed onto the handle (=burning the hole in) and the blades are heattreated afterwards - which should leave the tang soft enough for drilling...

 

[sunndog]

The tang shouldn't be as hard as the blade as a rule, but you never know

You'll soon find out for sure when you try and drill it a local engineering place might sort you out for a few quid


*edit
Got any pics?

 

[mrcharly]

Try the tang with a file, pressing lightly. If it is hardened, the file will skate off rather than bite in.

If you file some notches (very shallow ones) in the sides of the tang, that will give something for the epoxy to grip. Just little serrations, going to much depth will create a spot likely to fracture.

 

[forrestdweller]

filing some notches sounds like a good idea and should answer the question how hard the tang is, too.... (although i tried this trick recently for my ""handling a kiridashi in antler"" project- the file gripped near the blade but the drill did not...-- i do'nt want to end up with a hole in my nice horn handle for nothing)

 

[FGYT]

can always soften the tang wit ha blow torch

 

[forrestdweller]

yesterday evening i got finally around rehandling- two taps with a hammer and the handle fell off- not very reassuring.... . filing shallow notches was easy, too. i still opted to drill a hole and put a pin in: it was easier to drill then my last project (=kiridashi) so i daresay the steel is softer... . unfortunately the hole is not exactly in the middle of the tang(as it was a bit of a guess where to drill)---> one hole is about 2.5mm from the edge, the other about 5mm. i just hope i did not mess up my tool by creating a breaking spot (the tang is about 7mm thick)...