french blade & pistol grip

[Mar98]

i know, that there has to be a thread about how to make a blade for the french grip work with the pistol grip. but i cant find it anymore .. blame on me

can you give me the link or explain how it goes?

mar98

[glowstix]

cut the tang.

[noodle]

um... well i've never done it before, but i suppose it goes like this:

take a hacksaw or some sort of metal cutter (dremmel or somesuch) and cut the tang down to where its appropriate for the pistol grip, and then you're going to have to get a thread cutter (official name? i dunno. i just own one.) and put the blade in a vice and thread it (this is the hard part) so you can actually secure the grip on there.

this is, of course, assuming its the kind of french grip blade that only has thread at the very end where the pommel is and no thread near the base of the tang. otherwise, just cut the tang and thats it.

good luck. its probably quite tough and if i could avoid doing this, i would.

[Purple Fencer]

i know, that there has to be a thread about how to make a blade for the french grip work with the pistol grip. but i cant find it anymore .. blame on me

can you give me the link or explain how it goes?

mar98

1) Take off your French grip and put the pistol on....the tang will sick waaaay out, of course.

2) Get some whiteout correction fluid and use it to mark the tang at the lower end of the well opening in the grip.

3) Remove the grip

4) Use either a dremel with a reinforced fibreglass cutting wheel or a hacksaw for cutting the tang down (the dremel gives a cleaner cut with less effort...and it's kinda like the 4th of July...Wooo-hooo! Sparks!!!)

5) If you're using an OUTSIDE hex nut for a pommel, cut the tang off about 5 theads closer to the shoulder (where the guard rests) that the whiteout mark you made. This should allow for the guard, socket, and pad, but still leave tons of tang in case you switch to a different pistol grip with a shallower well (so you can still get the not ont he threads)

6) If you're using an INSIDE hex nut, you may have to start at the mark and keep cutting small portions off until the tang's long enough to get the nut on, but not so long that you can't tighten it. (That's why I use outside hex nut....you don't have that worry)

Done.

I've done a LOT of conversions in the three years I've been in business...this works every time.

[Purple Fencer]

and then you're going to have to get a thread cutter (official name? i dunno. i just own one.) and put the blade in a vice and thread it (this is the hard part) so you can actually secure the grip on there.

its probably quite tough and if i could avoid doing this, i would.

Actually, the only time I've had to rethread a tang was if I was cutting down a really small grip and the thradig on the tang didn't go down quite far enough. For most adult sized grips, the tangs are threaded sufficiently far down to not make rethreading necessarry.

And it's not tough to do at all...unless teh unterior of the new grip isn't wide enough, wich means I need to bring the bottom of the tang a little...but that's what a bench grinder's for!

If that not necessarry, I can do the conversion in a couple of minutes on a dry..a few more on an electric, but only because that included reconnecting the wire t the socket and testing to make sure I didn't crimp the wire somewhere.

[noodle]

Actually, the only time I've had to rethread a tang was if I was cutting down a really small grip and the thradig on the tang didn't go down quite far enough. For most adult sized grips, the tangs are threaded sufficiently far down to not make rethreading necessarry.

And it's not tough to do at all...unless teh unterior of the new grip isn't wide enough, wich means I need to bring the bottom of the tang a little...but that's what a bench grinder's for!

If that not necessarry, I can do the conversion in a couple of minutes on a dry..a few more on an electric, but only because that included reconnecting the wire t the socket and testing to make sure I didn't crimp the wire somewhere.

i have quite a few older french blades sitting around the armoury that don't have threads on the majority of the tang. like i said, if it doesn't apply to the blade, don't do it
it was just a precautionary statement.

[The0ne]

I use a sawsall with a metal cutting blade to cut the tang. This leaves a bit of a jagged edge, and I go over it with a Die, which is the re-threading tool noodle was talking about, just to make sure I don't have any trouble getting the nut on.

[Pepster]

When I cut tangs with a hacksaw, I thread a die or nut on to just below where I want to cut, and either use it as a guide or simply leave it there until the cut job is done.

IT helps to run a file over the end of the tang after cutting

Then I back the nut off the end of the tang and it'll straighten out any threads I botched up with the saw. I have a large 6mm nut I usually use because it's fat enough to force by hand when I need to fix threads, and it seems to work just as well as a die.

-Pep
- Who needs a hacksaw HANDLE? Bare fingers baby!

[telkanuru]

Same as above, only I use bolt cutters on the tang.

[Purple Fencer]

i have quite a few older french blades sitting around the armoury that don't have threads on the majority of the tang. like i said, if it doesn't apply to the blade, don't do it
it was just a precautionary statement.

Now that you mention it, I DO seem to recall a few of those blades...theyh were inkly threaded a couple of inches down.

'Course, I was referring to more recently made blades!

[Purple Fencer]

Same as above, only I use bolt cutters on the tang.

I used to use the "nail clippers" too, but I found that they always mashed down the top thread, makiing a theading die necessarry for the very top. Also, unless you use a sabre mask cord or something like it to secure the part being removed to something else, it may fly off into someone;s face...particularly if it;s a short segment...the longer ones don't tend to launch.

[DJ Apostrophe]

I use the bolt cutter method as well. I twist an outside hex nut below where I want to cut, put the blade in a vise, position the bolt cutter, throw a towel over the bolt cutter & tang, have someone hold the very end of the tag i'm cutting, clip the tang, then back the outside hex off of the tang with a wrench. Assemble as normal, stir and serve hot.

-w

[Purple Fencer]

Almost any of the methods posted here will work. The REAL trick is cutting the tang the correct length in the first place, particularly if you use insude hex nuts.