Tang (weaponry)

A tang or shank is the back portion of the blade component of a tool where it extends into stock material or connects to a handle - as on a knife, sword, spear, arrowhead, chisel, file, coulter, pike, scythe, screwdriver, etc. One can classify various tang designs by their appearance, by the manner in which they attach to a handle, and by their length in relation to the handle.

Full vs partial tang

A full tang extends the full length of the grip-portion of a handle, versus a partial tang which does not. A full tang may or may not extend the full width of the handle.

There are a wide variety of full and partial tang designs. In perhaps the most common design in full tang knives, the handle is cut in the shape of the tang and handle "slabs" are then fastened to the tang by means of pins, screws, bolts, metal tubing, epoxy, etc. The tang is left exposed along the belly, butt, and spine of the handle, extending both the full length and width of the handle.

Partial tang designs include stub, half, and three-quarter tangs, describing how far the tang extends into the handle of the tool. The most common partial tang design found in commercial knives is on folding knives, where the tang extends only as far as the pivot-point in the handle. Scalpels, utility razor blades, and a number of other knives are commonly designed with short partial tangs that are easy to fasten and unfasten from the handle so that dull or contaminated blades may be quickly exchanged for fresh ones, or so that one style of blade may be exchanged for another style while maintaining the same handle. Hollow-handled knives also incorporate a partial tang. Many inexpensive knives and swords designed for decorative purposes incorporate partial tangs and are not intended to be used for cutting applications.

Tang

Tang or TANG may refer to:

Brands

Chinese states and dynasties

Places

Tang, County Westmeath

Tang (Irish: An Teanga, meaning "The tongue") is a full village and a half-parish in County Westmeath, on the N55 national secondary road between Athlone and Ballymahon, County Longford. Tang is in the parish of Drumraney. Tang is in County Westmeath but on the border with County Longford from which it is separated by the River Tang, which flows into Lough Ree 3 km downstream via the River Inny.

See also

External links

Clevis fastener

A clevis fastener is a three-piece fastener system consisting of a clevis, clevis pin, and tang. The clevis is a U-shaped piece that has holes at the end of the prongs to accept the clevis pin. The clevis pin is similar to a bolt, but is only partially threaded or unthreaded with a cross-hole for a split pin. The tang is a piece that fits in the space within the clevis and is held in place by the clevis pin. The combination of a simple clevis fitted with a pin is commonly called a shackle, although a clevis and pin is only one of the many forms a shackle may take.

Clevises are used in a wide variety of fasteners used in farming equipment and sailboat rigging, as well as the automotive, aircraft and construction industries. They are also widely used to attach control surfaces and other accessories to servo controls in airworthy model aircraft. As a part of a fastener, a clevis provides a method of allowing rotation in some axes while restricting rotation in others.

Clevis pin