A tangy topic

Most people new to sword collecting overthink the design of tangs. They all are told or are aware that the best types of tangs are full tangs, ideally peened, or riveted patent tangs. Most assume to steer completely aware of half tangs and rat-tail tangs, but they are not completely horrible.

Rat-tail tang

These tangs are decried for their fragility. However, one needs to consider the stress point. They are indeed terrible for use on cutting swords as a percussive chop will inevitably strain the tang because of the impact force opposing the force of the swing. For some thrusting swords, namely smallswords, a rat-tail tang is completely acceptable as the opposing forces are in the same line. They have certainly served sport fencing swords.

Partial/half tang

These tangs are actually historical. Tulwars and other weapons of the Indian subcontinent are known to have partial tangs that have been glued into the hilt. As seen in many antiques, this glue holds for a very long time. Aside from the glue's strength, force is not an issue for many of these swords as they are designed more for the slice than the chop.