Knife Tang: What Does it Mean? [Full, Partial & Rat-Tail Tang]

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The tang of a knife refers to the portion of the blade that extends into the handle. In other words, it’s the part of the blade that is not sharpened and is hidden within the handle.

The tang is an important component of a knife’s construction because it provides balance and stability to the blade.

Knife Tang: What Does it Mean? [Full, Partial & Rat-Tail Tang]

There are different types of tangs, including full tang, partial tang, and rat-tail tang.

Full tang knives have a tang that runs the entire length of the handle, while partial tang knives have a tang that only extends partway into the handle.

Rat-tail tang knives have a thin, narrow tang inserted into the handle and secured with a rivet or other fastener.

A full tang knife is often considered the most durable and balanced type of knife, as the weight of the blade is evenly distributed throughout the handle.

It also provides better leverage and control when cutting, chopping, or slicing.

A partial or rat-tail tang knife may be less expensive, but it may not have the same level of strength or stability as a full tang knife.

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Joost Nusselder, the founder of Bite My Bun is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with Japanese food at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips.