Tang (weaponry) - Common Tang Styles Found in Swords and Knives

Common Tang Styles Found in Swords and Knives

It should be noted that most of these design styles can be used with full or partial tangs and the use of one does not exclude the use of another. For example, a sword may have a hidden, encapsulated, rat-tail tang.

Push Tang: the tang is inserted or pushed into a pre-made handle and fastened in place.

Encapsulated Tang: handle material is molded around the tang itself and fastened in place.

Hidden Tang: the tang is fastened within the handle such that neither the tang nor the mechanism by which it is fastened is visible on the surface of the handle. A hidden tang may be accomplished in a number of ways. The simplest way to accomplish a hidden tang is with epoxy. A more sophisticated method is to construct the tang with a small protrusion (or a protrusion may be welded onto it) which fits into a notch in the handle, preventing the blade from being withdrawn from the handle. Another common method is to cut bolt-threading into the end of the tang whereby a pommel-nut screws into place. Inexpensive decorative knives and swords occasionally feature a hidden false tang consisting of a separate thin bolt welded to a stub tang on the blade, the bolt is then inserted through the handle and fastened in place by a pommel-nut.

Stick and Rat-Tail Tangs: the transition from blade to tang involves an abrupt decrease in the amount of stock metal such that the tang is narrower than the rest of the tool, moreso when the transition resembles that between a rat's thick body and its thin tail. A narrow tang provides less material strength to the tool than a wider tang but is also lighter and can be constructed to provide sufficient strength to prevent failure of the tang during use of the tool. It is a common misconception that all rat-tail tangs are weak and unsuitable in tools designed for hard or heavy use. Historically, the majority of swords and bladed tools produced prior to the advent of modern machinery and techniques featured such tangs as an indirect result of the forging process. The failure-rate of properly designed stick-tangs is quite low, and the vast majority of catastrophic failures in swords and knives occurs in the blade, not the tang. Features of a well made stick-tang include the following: increased ductility relative to the blade, uniform grain structure at the transition between blade and tang, and a more gradual/less abrupt (and preferably radiused) transition.

Tapered Tang: the width of the tang gradually decreases in one or more dimensions along its length. Tapered tangs may feature thinning along the spine from blade to pommel, thinning from spine to belly, or even hollowing from the edges toward the midsection of the tang-stock. This is an uncommon but sophisticated design used to reduce the amount of material (and thereby the weight) in the handle of the tool without significant sacrifice of strength along horizontal and vertical vectors.

Skeletonized Tang: large sections along the tang are cut away, reducing the amount of stock material to a basic framework while still providing structural support. This is another sophisticated, modern method of reducing the material weight of the tang without sacrificing significant material strength or support. Skeletonized tangs are also commonly utilized to provide storage space in the handle of the tool.

Extended Tang: the tang extends beyond the grip of the handle. In knives, the extended tang may function as a hammer-pommel.