Hi, all. I'm making a California gold rush era push dagger and I am wondering how the handle is attached to the blade tang. In all the pictures of antiques, I have yet to see any rivets or pins used to hold it in place. I'm using walnut for the handle material. Any suggestions or instructions on how it was done? Thanks.
~Josh
Joshua, a lot of them have a threaded tang. So there is a finial or end piece that screws onto the tang. They usually have some sort of small washer between the back of the handle and the finial. Hopefully Mark Zaleski will join in and answer in more detail.
Brion
Brion Tomberlin
Anvil Top Custom Knives
ABS Mastersmith
I've seen several different styles but I believe that most are like Brion said and have a threaded stick tang like this:
Some had a mechanical hilt like this:
I'm sure that there were some made with a full tang but from what I have seen in my research, most did not. However if you are wanting to build one with a full tang and be authentic then I'm sure that you can find evidence of some being done that way.
Gary
Thanks, Brion and Gary. That helps alot. I've never seen that mechanical style before. Pretty interesting. I'm doing a knife like the first picture Gary shared, but with a dark walnut handle. Thanks again. I think that answered my dilema.
