blade temper

[jjefferies]

I've got a couple of blades that have the tangs cut too short - long story and no I'm not taking them back. So I tried a couple of approaches and on the basis of some comments here decided to weld on some extra tang. There were enough tang bits cut off other blades to provide the practice material. Though I'm not a decent welder it did work. The approach was to hold them together and weld and then allow to air cool. But when I went to bend the tang it broke below the weld, too brittle or because the tang had taken on a temper - I believe the tangs are not normally tempered. So my solution was to do the necessary bends first then weld on the extension. And then instead of taking the heat away immediately I passed the torch (this is gas welding) over the weld spot allowing it to cool slower.

So far no failure. But is there a more proper approach to allowing the tang to get back to its normal state??

thanks

[robert]

1. Depending on how short they are they might fit a smaller grip size. You could find some one with a smaller hand who would therefore use a smaller pistol grip and sell them the blades or you might donate them to a club with a kids program.

2. A second option is to drill the nut slot in a pistol grip deeper, i..e coming in from the back of the grip and narowing the length of tang needed before you can get the nut on. I hate the pastic handles but in this case they are easier to drill then the metal.

3. If you were trying to fit a french grip and they are too short for a french, they should now fit a pistol grip.

Good luck