I have mainly made "Full Tang" knives. The reason for this is very simple - I like them. Historically speaking, the hidden tang knife could be considered more popular, the reasons for this are varied and prolific as knife designs. Some of the arguments for this seem to make sense but always fall a bit short when logic is applied to them.
One argument as to why hidden tang knives were popular was that with the equipment and technology of the era a hidden tang was easier to produce. Umm, this doesn't stand up to the logic test.... If a blade smith can make a blade with a hidden tang he can just as easily create a full tang.
Well, one could argue that the materials used to attach the handle scales to the blade were not sufficient to be able to properly bond the scales to the tang. Once again if you apply logic to this argument it also falls a little short. If the hidden tang can be secured into a handle block the scales can be secured in the same way as well as being held into place with mechanical means such as rivets.
Well, they were lighter to carry and use... Hmm... Logic again... One cubic inch of steel weighs .283 pounds (give or take a few 10/10,000 of a pound) and the average tang is 3/16 inch thick or less and 4 to 5 inches long, that means the whole tang weighs in at 1.415 ounces....... and the hidden tang has to be at least 25% of that so your total weight savings would be 1.061 ounces. I don't believe weight was the issue either.
The one argument for narrow tangs that stands up is Steel was a valuable commodity and if the Bladesmith could save even 10% of the steel required to make a knife, that's what he would do.
With all that being said, a hidden tang knife (also known as "narrow tang") is sufficiently strong enough to perform any task the average user would require from it as well as looking good while doing it. My version of the historical hidden tang knife has a drop point blade that is 5.25 inches long, 1.125 inches wide and .15625 inches thick. The blade has a large ricasso that is period correct for historical knives. The cross guard is hand formed from a chunk of brass and has a hammered top surface with polished sides and bottom. The handle material is Florida Red Maple (the part that isn't historically accurate is I stabilized the wood) with a brass pin for a mechanical connection. This knife would have been right at home on the hip of a cowboy, farmer, rancher, trapper, hunter, or basically anyone that carried a knife in the 1800's (and probably long before that) The spec's for this throw back to the past are below.
Overall Length = 9 5/8”
Blade = Length – 5 1/4” Length – 1 1/8” Width
Blade Style = Brushed Drop Point Hidden Tang
Blade Material = 5/32” 1075 High Carbon Steel
Handle Material = Stabilized FL Red Maple With Brass Cross Guard and 3/16" brass mechanical connector
Sheath - Custom hand made leather sheath with a retention strap
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