picture of thru tang   Full / Thru Tang
The term full/thru tang means that the knife/sword is one solid piece and the 2 handle pieces are pinned on to the blade, one on each side.
This is the strongest of the tang types.
picture of rat tail tang  

 

Rat Tail Tang
In a rat tail tang, the tang narrows as it goes through the handle and is either threaded at the end or is welded to a piece of threaded rod. A bolt or threaded pommel secures the blade to the handle.

picture of half tang   Half Tang
About half of the handle is tang. This half of the tang is frequently visible on the back/top of the handle.
picture of push tang half   Push Tang (Half Length)
In a half length push tang, the tang is about half the length of the handle. The tang is inserted into the handle and fixed in place usually with a strong glue, sometimes it is pinned.
picture of push tang full   Push Tang (Full Length)
In a full length push tang, the tang is slightly smaller than the length of the handle. The tang is inserted into the handle and fixed in place usually with a strong glue, it is sometimes pinned.
picture of Encapsulated Tang   Encapsulated Tang
In an encapsulated tang, the handle is molded/cast around the blade and can follow its contours.