American Tanto vs Spear Point

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Boberama

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Does the tanto have any advantages whatsoever?

Why would one buy a tanto over a spearpoint design?

I'll use these pics as examples:


CRM21-14SF_xlarge_7145_large_283.jpg

CRM16-14SF_xlarge_4187_large_266.jpg
 
Boberama said:
Does the tanto have any advantages whatsoever?

Why would one buy a tanto over a spearpoint design?
Click to expand...

Advantage of a tanto - scraping a flat surface is the only thing that comes to mind.

Why buy a tanto - I guess some people like the look.

I personally don't like them, but whatever floats your boat.
 
i find if you do a lot of draw cuts, the secondary point on the american tanto helps not kill your wrist and overall has better ergos in that position. tantos also have arguably a stronger tip, that being said the spear point you posted has some nice belly which a lot of people prefer over a straight edge
 
Americanized tantos are all about marketing. Unless you go around stabbing car hoods, you probably have no real use for one. I think they are a joke. Serrations don't rate much higher for me, and are almost as useless...I prefer cutting with a sharp knife over sawing/ripping 99% of the time.
 
They are not very useful for everyday tasks but I wouldn't want to get cut by one. Serrations...meh. I don't see much use at all and they take up blade space.


What's this about car hoods? Why would anyone, ever, stab a car hood?

That's the most pointless thing ever!
 
Boberama said:
Does the tanto have any advantages whatsoever?

Why would one buy a tanto over a spearpoint design?
Click to expand...
We talking tactical advantage or practical?

In practical use, I only see very limited situations in which the tanto's secondary tip might be useful for piercing, though I would find a wharncliffe blade to be more appealing for such tasks.

For the tactical use, the tip is supposed to be stronger so you can insert it into someone's skull or ribcage without breaking it, or presumably use of the knife as a prybar. There's also been some debate on snap cutting, though I prefer whatever I use for utility tasks, because that's the kind of cutting I would be most used to.
 
Exactly...stabbing through bone...going to see a lot of use. The folder option makes it just that much more special. As far as the car hood thingy...that's the mentality they used 20+ years ago to try and market this amazing new design. Car hoods, 55 gallon drums, all were fair game in this brave new world.
 
American tanto is as usefull for all the practical purposes as... chisel grinds.
Or if you like the shape, or believe in some unique tactical qualities - why not. It is certainly not the ugliest thing on the market.
 
I really like the tanto blade style. I've used several models from fixed blades (Cold Steel Recon Tanto) to the Spyderco Lum, to CQC-7. I have found that the tip does allow for scraping and delicate cutting in a tight area. It also works as a makeshift chisel. It's nice to have 2 edges on a knife and have it still be legal. In theory, you can sharpen the horisontal edge slightly different than the tip. In other words, versatility is a good thing for some folks. After reading Glockmans mini review of the CRKT M16, I would not mind trying one in a tanto blade without serrations.

I really love Wharncliffe blades too. I think the precision offered is terrific. They look cool too.

I will say that I prefer a clip point (Cold Steel Recon 1) or a modified drop point (Griptilian or MiniGrip) to a standard spear point.. It's an aesthetic thing for me, although I can appreciate the functionality of many different bladestyles and grinds, I just don't gravitate towards spear points as much as the latter.
 
they make for a great scraper, and as someone who works with epoxy very frequently that is just handy as hell. Also provides a very easily controlled front section for precision cuts that isn't as weak as many wharncliffe tips.

Its really either a you get it, or you don't, like many things with knives. But saying they are not practical at all, is simply inaccurate, they just might not be practical for your life's needs. Nothing wrong with that :D
 
sven56 said:
Americanized tantos are all about marketing. Unless you go around stabbing car hoods, you probably have no real use for one. I think they are a joke. Serrations don't rate much higher for me, and are almost as useless...I prefer cutting with a sharp knife over sawing/ripping 99% of the time.
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You have given no scientific proof that either blade shape is better or worse for any purpose including stabbing car hoods. Your off topic rant about serrations is equally devoid of any proof that they are worse than any other profile and all you give is your personal feelings that you don't prefer cutting with them.
Until you substantiate your claims I must say that your opinions seem like useless jokes.
 
The only instance when I've bought a tanto over other blade shapes was a balisong. The straight edges are easier to tape up for practice.
 
GMAHN said:
You have given no scientific proof that either blade shape is better or worse for any purpose including stabbing car hoods. Your off topic rant about serrations is equally devoid of any proof that they are worse than any other profile and all you give is your personal feelings that you don't prefer cutting with them.
Until you substantiate your claims I must say that your opinions seem like useless jokes.
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Well, being that we're on a forum, we are free to express our opinions. You are also free to do so without attacking the opinion of others.
 
The secondary point is very nice for draw cuts and it still retains a good tip for piercing. I find it does a better job of balancing these 2 things than a drop point or a spear point. You also have a surprising amount of control when working with the tip. While it's not my favorite blade shape it does have it's uses.
 
Tantos are a bit of a PITA to sharpen. I had one given to me and would never buy one because I don't see the benefit to offset the sharpening difficulty.
 
The one thing American Tanto's do better than most other designs is straight forward and uppercut plunge penetration. Most of the people I know who've used them for such a purpose prefer the Tanto. For everyday use other than taking down another human, there are better choices. Personally, I do not like to whittle with them.
 
I agree with EricV, different strokes, etc. I find USA tantos great for working with gaskets, rubber hoses [batonning, it's quick!], adhesives....one time it was a S+W tanto folder which was the only tool i could find to break the seal and finally remove an oil pan on an 18 yr. old Toyota i had really thought i was gonna have to hammer it off [hate that].
 
GMAHN said:
You have given no scientific proof that either blade shape is better or worse for any purpose including stabbing car hoods. Your off topic rant about serrations is equally devoid of any proof that they are worse than any other profile and all you give is your personal feelings that you don't prefer cutting with them.
Until you substantiate your claims I must say that your opinions seem like useless jokes.
Click to expand...

Groovy...look, I don't care what you buy with your money, and you like them, it's fine with me. OP asked about advantages, and for me the design is one that, while it may occasionally come in as useful , I wouldn't want to haul it around all the time waiting for that moment. I have scrapers for paint and gaskets, and if that was the type of work I did often, they would be my go-to tools for the job. I don't stab people, and although the situation may arise that someday I'll need to, it's highly unlikely. I'll probably be forced into using my less than optimum blade design at the moment and hope I survive. The "scientific proof" lies in the geometry of the blade grinds. The pictures the OP posted of the knives in question shows both with serrations, therefore fair game for comment.
I know that the basic appeal for Americanized tantos is in their looks. If that is what matters most, that's fine with me as well. I'm just trying to voice an alternate view about their usefulness based on 50 years of knife use, a solid 20 based on living and working outdoors where they were very important tools that I had to depend on. While I may have voiced my dislike a little strongly, my intent wasn't to kick anyone's dog.
If you are too young or weren't into knives at the time that the marketing of this design included advertising how they were strong enough at the tip to withstand stabbing hoods/doors/drums, and was illustrated by footage showing them "in action", then you might not see how that appeared to be reaching a stretch to sell something of dubious practicality.
Bottom line is buy what you want. I reserve the right to have an opinion that may go against the popular opinion. If I caused anyone to lose sleep with my "rant", I apologize...I wasn't brought up in a time when being PC at the cost of losing independent view was taught, and I refuse to regress to that state.
 
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