Boker Knifestyle | EN Edition 2018 / 2019

CONSTRUCTION OF A KITCHEN KNIFE
37
Full tang
Handle scale
Forged bolster
THE FULL TANG — ROBUST & SIMPLE
The full tang is the simplest and most robust solution. The concept
comes from outdoor knives, and is most often used for knives
that need to be particularly sturdy and withstand even abuse and
improper usage, such as prying or chopping. The full tang follows
the entire handle shape; the scales are riveted on from both sides.
Then, the handle scales are fitted to the tang on a belt sander and
also rounded so that they offer a pleasant and secure grip. The
knives in our Boker Saga series feature a full tang.
Push tang
Guiding sleeve
Stainless
steel sleeve
Rivet
THE PUSH TANG —
AS MUCH AS NEEDED, AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE
The push tang is the lightest of the listed joints. Its philosophy
is “as much as needed, as little as possible”. The actual tang is
narrower than the ricasso that goes on into the handle. The tang
runs through about a third of the length of the handle. Here, it is
held by a single stainless steel rivet. The wood at the front end
of the handle is protected by a finely satinized ferrule. Fitting the
ferrule is particularly difficult, because its spot on the handle is both
conical and oval. This means that it doesn’t have a regular geometric
shape. This construction follows the Japanese tradition and we use
it for our series Boker Damascus Olive and Boker Damascus Black.
In Japanese cooking, most cuts are pulled. With this technique,
the blade is easier to control if the handle is lighter compared to the
blade. If flexural forces came into play during the cutting process –
though those are negligible when working with food – they would
be happening in the strongest spot of this connection.