Drilling holes into western handle?

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Silky

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I have a question for people who have dabbled into rehandling western handles. One of the major reasons people seem to like wa handles, aside from the shape and look, is that it pushes the weight balance forward compared to western handles.

If you were to rehandle a western handled knife, would it make sense to drill out metal from the tang area to decrease weight in the back half of the knife? This question is in response to seeing a number of other knives using this style of construction such as the knives of Don Nguyen.
 
It would indeed push the balance point forward some and lighten up the back half. In the addition it would increase the epoxy contact from scale to scale or liner material depending upon your design.
 
Drilling holes in a heat treated blade is the biggest pita, ever. Also, it will eat expensive drill bits quickly.
 
Thanks for the link Lucretia, it was really cool. You wouldn't happen to know how he ground out the blade like that?

I only have a few knives that I want to re-handle and move the balance forward on. Would a single bit last through 2-3 knives?
 
I've read on another forum that you can spot heat (with a propane torch) the tang where you want to drill and the bit will go through easily. But you'll need to keep the blade cool with water soaked towels to avoid burning out the heat treat/temper. Never tried it myself as I only drill soft annealed steel that I'm making into knives, not already finished knives.

You'll want to use at least cobalt drill bits, probably jobber length which are shorter so they don't bend as much when you're applying pressure. Carbide drill bits are probably the best bet for drilling hardened steel but more likely to snap I bet. I think one of the problems with drilling is possible work hardening of the steel in addition to the heat. When I drill, I use cutting/tapping fluid, I've used WD40 and light machine oil before but they are too light to do a good job IMO.

To get the hollowed out section, you can mill it out if you have the equipment or can get access. You can also use a small diameter wheel on a belt sander and carefully do it by hand. You'll want to keep the blade cool so it doesn't overheat and ruin the HT/temper. I would be very careful doing this especially since I wouldn't want the sander to catch and throw a sharp blade.

Hopefully Dave Martell will chime in because I'm sure he's had a ton of experience doing this?
 
What about careful application of an angle grinder? I'm sure spot heating to start with softer steel would help, again, and you have to keep from overheating the blade while grinding.

Tyler
 
milkbaby said:
I've read on another forum that you can spot heat (with a propane torch) the tang where you want to drill and the bit will go through easily. But you'll need to keep the blade cool with water soaked towels to avoid burning out the heat treat/temper. Never tried it myself as I only drill soft annealed steel that I'm making into knives, not already finished knives.

You'll want to use at least cobalt drill bits, probably jobber length which are shorter so they don't bend as much when you're applying pressure. Carbide drill bits are probably the best bet for drilling hardened steel but more likely to snap I bet. I think one of the problems with drilling is possible work hardening of the steel in addition to the heat. When I drill, I use cutting/tapping fluid, I've used WD40 and light machine oil before but they are too light to do a good job IMO.

To get the hollowed out section, you can mill it out if you have the equipment or can get access. You can also use a small diameter wheel on a belt sander and carefully do it by hand. You'll want to keep the blade cool so it doesn't overheat and ruin the HT/temper. I would be very careful doing this especially since I wouldn't want the sander to catch and throw a sharp blade.

Hopefully Dave Martell will chime in because I'm sure he's had a ton of experience doing this?
Click to expand...

Wow, very informative, thanks. Do you know if spot treating the tang would cause any long term issues? For example, could you possible soften the tang too much and cause it to lose structural stability if the holes drilled into it were to large/too much material was removed?
 
Silky said:
Wow, very informative, thanks. Do you know if spot treating the tang would cause any long term issues? For example, could you possible soften the tang too much and cause it to lose structural stability if the holes drilled into it were to large/too much material was removed?
Click to expand...

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I drill a lot of holes in a full tang knife to get the balance where I like it. It also helps provide more surface area for epoxy glue to help hold everything together. I don't think the handle itself takes a lot of stress during use. The stress is probably most concentrated at where the blade enters the handle as the neck is thin and is at the point where it's not reinforced by the handle wood.

I think the biggest danger is ruining the heat treat by accidentally heating up the blade.
 
milkbaby said:
I drill a lot of holes in a full tang knife to get the balance where I like it. It also helps provide more surface area for epoxy glue to help hold everything together. I don't think the handle itself takes a lot of stress during use. The stress is probably most concentrated at where the blade enters the handle as the neck is thin and is at the point where it's not reinforced by the handle wood.

I think the biggest danger is ruining the heat treat by accidentally heating up the blade.
Click to expand...

How do you determine if you have the balance point where you like it before adding the wooden scales? Is it just generally "as forward as possible" on a full tang knife, or are you aiming for something specific?

Thanks,
Tyler
 
OneStaple said:
How do you determine if you have the balance point where you like it before adding the wooden scales? Is it just generally "as forward as possible" on a full tang knife, or are you aiming for something specific?
Click to expand...

Smarter people than me probably have it figured out, but I just guesstimate. It usually has to be a certain distance nearer to the tip than where I really want it, say an inch or more further up when I make a wooden template design. I drill the tang like crazy as seen above, and then can lay the wood scales on top of the tang and sort of see how it balances. However, it's mostly luck as I shape the contours of the handle the way I see in my mind combined with how it feels in hand, and the balance is where it is in the end. With a wa handle you have the option of shortening it if you need to in order to get the balance point precisely where you want.
 
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