I was asked to make a new handle for this old fillet knife. Would like to make it as close to how it was as possible but haven't decided on the best way to go about that. The height of the tang goes from about .52 near the blade to .58 near where it curves back up. I tried a practice cut with a 10 inch saw blade and it didn't fit the curve. Maybe because of the difference between the .52 and .58. The other interesting thing is that the tang has thickness of .054 near the blade and .070 toward the bottom rear of the tang. The top of the tang nearest the blade is .073 and at the rear of the tang .082. Sooo, suggestions are welcome.
Suggestions on how to make a slot to fit the tang?
- Thread starter fishrman
- Start date
![P1430491_edited-1 [640x480].jpg](/data/attachments/58/58755-5f7281c571c3ca42e6f2c29c011da358.jpg)
![P1430490_edited-1 [640x480].jpg](/data/attachments/58/58756-0e8290ba232c86ab339de9b1203ca01a.jpg)
John Wilson
Well-Known Member
Yeah, this is a challenge for sure. A whole lot of production kitchen knives have this slot - tang setup with rivets.
The way I’d approach it is to grind the rivet heads off on one side of the handle so that you have a good side left over to use for reference when you make a new block handle.
Lay the blade on the new block and use it as a template for your pin holes (using the existing rivet holes in the tang). A dremel cutoff wheel is very handy to cut the slot. If you chuck the dremel cutoff wheel into your drill press it will keep it flat and level. You can lay the handle block on its side and drag it across the spinning cutoff wheel. You’ll get a really good straight slot.
If the slot is a lot wider than the tang, add black tint to the epoxy to fill the slot and then put your tang in there and install the pins. Once you grind off the excess that black epoxy will make the slot look perfect. This will solve the whole varying thickness issue with the tang.
The way I’d approach it is to grind the rivet heads off on one side of the handle so that you have a good side left over to use for reference when you make a new block handle.
Lay the blade on the new block and use it as a template for your pin holes (using the existing rivet holes in the tang). A dremel cutoff wheel is very handy to cut the slot. If you chuck the dremel cutoff wheel into your drill press it will keep it flat and level. You can lay the handle block on its side and drag it across the spinning cutoff wheel. You’ll get a really good straight slot.
If the slot is a lot wider than the tang, add black tint to the epoxy to fill the slot and then put your tang in there and install the pins. Once you grind off the excess that black epoxy will make the slot look perfect. This will solve the whole varying thickness issue with the tang.
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