Hidden tang knife handle drilling method

While at school I learned (finally!) how to get an accurate hole drilled in your handle material for a hidden tang knife handle.

You can use this on a standard drill press or a blacksmiths post drill. Take a piece of 3/8" all thread and sharpen it to a point on one end. The length will vary with your particular press. Mount the length of all thread in the center hole of your press table using nuts and washers on both sides of the table to secure it.

Now, allign the drilling head with a drill bit in it so the tips of both meet when the drill bit is lowered all the way to the bottom of the press travel. Make sure to lower your table to accomodate the full travel of the drill bit so you can drill as far into the handle as possible on the first go. It's best to locate some long drill bits to make this easier.

Now, lay your blade tang on the material and mark where the tang lies. It's best to outline the tang if possible. If the tang is straight, it's very simple to get a perfectly alligned hole drilled in the handle. Just Draw a center line through the tang that you outlined in the last step. Transfer this line across the ends of the handle material by making a small dot on the end corresponding to the center line you just drew. Then, draw a line on the end from side to side. Draw a line across the ends to make a center point or cross hair for the tang hole to be drilled. Do this procedure on both ends of the handle.

Now, centerpunch the cross hairs you just drew and set the bottom of the handle on the sharpened all thread in the center of your table. Bring the drill bit down to the other centerpunched mark on the top of the handle. Drill the hole as deeply as possible, then reverse the handle and finish drilling from the other end. The drill bit will always follow the same path as long as you have the center point engaged in the punch mark and the drill bit engaged in the punch mark on the other end. It has no choice. Amazing and simple!

For a curved tang, it's a little different and a little more complicated. Follow the same steps as outlined above until you finish drawing the center line through the outlined tang. Find the center of the curve in the tang. Eyeballing is close enough. You don't need to get scientific here. Use a straight edge to draw a line from the center of the curve to the end of the handle on top and bottom of the tang, using the end of the tang as a guide. Draw the lines all the way to both edges and then find the center and draw a line there too. This will set the angle for your second hole drilled from the pommel end of the handle.

Find the centerpunch spot in the top of the handle and center punch both the end and top and there you have it. It's a little more difficult to get this hole drilled because of the angle. Just make your centerpunch mark a little deeper and at the same angle as the hole will be drilled. That way, when you set the handle on the center point to align it, it won't slip out during the drilling procedure. This is where the length of the all thread comes into play. You need to be able to adjust your all thread up or down depending on the need. A 6" - 8" piece should be sufficient. Otherwise, there won't be room to get the handle under the drill bit at that crazy angle. (This is really difficult to describe, I hope I haven't totally cornfused everybody).

You still need to draw the center line of the tang for your first hole in the ricasso end of the handle. Just use the tang outline on the front of the handle as your center reference and draw a straight line from the center of the tang in front to the pommel end of the handle to find your center punch mark on the pommel end. After both holes are drilled, you'll have to hog out some stock with a round file to accomodate the curve in the tang.

The moral of the story is don't use a curved tang if you don't have to. Use large enough stock so your handle can turn out like you want it to by profiling it on the bandsaw and use a straight tang.

Good luck and have fun!