# Question on Sanding down tang



## ms4awd (Jun 23, 2013)

Can anyone give advice on how to go about sanding down the tang of a handle to make it flush with the wood scales? I have a nenox whose tang is ever so slightly raised on the top of the handle on one side only. Can i just sand it down manually by hand? what grit should i use? and how do i finish it so it will be back to the same finish as before. Its a quince wood handle. The wood didnt shrink i think from the factory the tang was a bit off on one side wasnt ground flush completely. Doesnt really affect holding the knife its more of an annoyance i would like to resolve more than anything. thanks


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## Brad Gibson (Jun 23, 2013)

I'd recommend covering the scales with some thick sort of masking tape and going at the tang with a low grit and work up to the grit that makes the finish match the rest of the knife. You can polish it out with mud from a 5000+ stone when you are done as well. Good luck, make sure you cover the entire scales so no mistakes mess up your nice handle!


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## NO ChoP! (Jun 23, 2013)

You'll need some sort of block, so you don't sand down any wood. Start aggressively and work up to maybe 800 grit...


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## ms4awd (Jun 23, 2013)

> You'll need some sort of block,



What type of block would this be?


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## ThEoRy (Jun 24, 2013)

Belt grinder.


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## Mike9 (Jun 26, 2013)

Depending on the HT on the tang a fresh file might be easier and faster to knock it down then polish to match.


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## HHH Knives (Jun 26, 2013)

If I may interject. Rather then sanding down the tang. How about oiling the wood handle so it re hydrates the wood.. which should allow it to swell a bit and problem solved. 

Then if this does not work. try the sanding approach. 


God Bless
Randy


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## greasedbullet (Jun 26, 2013)

ms4awd said:


> What type of block would this be?



A sanding block. They sell them at Lowes. I just wrap sandpaper around a 2x4 scrap, or some other form of scrap wood.


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## ms4awd (Jun 27, 2013)

> If I may interject. Rather then sanding down the tang. How about oiling the wood handle so it re hydrates the wood.. which should allow it to swell a bit and problem solved.
> 
> Then if this does not work. try the sanding approach.



Yes i have been applying oil every few days for the past 10 days or so. After 2 or 3 days the scales start looking dry again, were you referring to soaking the handle in oil? ive been using camelia/tsubaki oil. Im not quite sure if its the wood scales or the knife just needs to be finished better.


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## knyfeknerd (Jun 27, 2013)

I would try soaking it in mineral oil 1st, it doesn't have to be Camelia/Tsubaki. If this doesn't help, you could always coat it and sand it (would be a long process) with Tru-Oil, sanding in between applications until the finish meets the height of the tang.


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## NO ChoP! (Jun 27, 2013)

Hmm...I guess it may be prudent to try oil first, before altering an expensive knife forever, but my brain tells me that a shrinkage of just .5mm in a wood handle X 20mm wide x 300mm around = a lot of volume to make up for; not sure if wood can even sustain-ably hold that much extra oil? Now, I know Tru-Oil builds up on the surface, so maybe that's different. I personally don't like the finish for handles; I'm more of a naturalist; high grit polish; oil; wax....


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