Dwayne,

This is one of those subjects where opinions differ. I have seen skinny stick tangs that are obviously weak and flimsy. Then there are those who swing to the other extreme. I lean heavily toward the stronger tang. I make mine about 75% the size of the ricasso. Two other things are just as important. In my opinion, it's important to lessen the possiblitity of stress risers by getting the juncture of tang and ricasso as smooth (possibly radiused) as you can using fine files etc. Also, the fit between the guard and back of the ricasso, should be TIGHT.

Thanks Lin.

I guess if your "fit" is correct , nobody could tell how big the tang is.

I'm off to make a file guide.

Dwane

As Lin mentioned, this is going to be one of those areas that vary widely from maker to maker. The bottom line is to do what works best for YOU. I teach a lot of Basic Bladesmithing Students, and always teach them what I call the "1/3-2/3 rule" when it comes to hidden tangs.....since most hunter sized blades or the hidden tang variety will have a guard, with a "finger roll" at the bottom, I teach that the tang should be situated so that the bottom blade "shoulder" is 2/3, and the top blade shoulder is 1/3......another way to say it is that the tang is NOT centered on the blade, it's offset to the top (spine). This is often the difference between making the "finger roll" in the guard successful, or grinding through the handle material and exposing the tang (which results it starting over again).

That makes good sence , thanks ED.

Great question and thanks for sharing the 1/3 2/3 rule Ed !

-Josh

Another thing to remember is that many makers these days back-cut or lessen the thickness of the tang behind shoulders filed into the sides of the ricasso to cover the slot in the guard.

This makes the tang thinner. I've seen some as thin as .100"!!

So, consider the thickness of the tang as well.

Do a cross-section "cut" of the tang and measure thickness X height to get an idea of the surface area of the cross section.

This would be the strength of the tang.

If a maker does NOT thin the guard down but rather leaves it full thickness, say .200" which is twice as thick as the guy who thinned his guard down to .100", he could have the same cross-sectional material strength by having a shorter tang height!