Americanized Tanto is Weird

[suedeface]

I have heard that originally tanto knives used to be made from broken tips /tops of full sized-swords . Maybe the style of tip would depend on the angle of the break?

 

[crom]

Comeuppance, thanks! Different thread but it works!

 

[Inkbender]

Yeah... what is sometimes pointed to as the "American tanto" blade profile has been around for many many more years than the existence of America.

 

[severedthumbs]

OP should do more research before starting ignorant threads.

 

[EpicHam]

OP should do more research before starting ignorant threads.

I did , but everyone on the net is saying
"ohhh , this Americanized design is what brought Cold Steel into the playing field ... ohhh... its so unnatural and its a bastard and whatever"
Now I know :thumbup:

 

[o4tg]

I have heard that originally tanto knives used to be made from broken tips /tops of full sized-swords . Maybe the style of tip would depend on the angle of the break?

No.......

 

[Blackbeltfamily]

Hello I am new to forms in general( this is my first time write in). I've noticed you guys are on the topic of American tanto. If I could I would like to ask a question that is off topic( I couldn't find anything close to my topic). Does anyone know anything about using epoxy risen on katana silk wrapped handles? Or maybe help direct me to the write form

 

[T Schloz]

Hello I am new to forms in general( this is my first time write in). I've noticed you guys are on the topic of American tanto. If I could I would like to ask a question that is off topic( I couldn't find anything close to my topic). Does anyone know anything about using epoxy risen on katana silk wrapped handles? Or maybe help direct me to the write form

You may want to ask that question in the Sword Discussion forum.

Tom

 

[blame it on god]

I'm hoping the fad dies out soon.

This "fad" has been around for centuries and it isn't going anywhere. Tanto's are very useful blades. They are also very easy to maintain.

 

[HwangJino]

Traditional tanto is a pain to sharpen (it is curved).
American tanto is very easy to sharpen (since it's flat).

I avoid both, though I want a kitchen knife with 'sword' tip as I want to learn how to properly sharpen/polish one.

 

[Aleous]

I was into swords way before I was knives, Japanese ones especially and when I first saw the American tanto I disliked it immensely. It looked like a copy to me of the straight bladed ninja swords you see in movies which I thought were pure fantasy(though I know now have some historical basis, the aforementioned jokoto).

Though after a while the design grew on me and I ended up with a folder version, very happy now with my Ontario Utilitac black tanto. Still prefer the common Japanese tanto shape to the American tanto in fixed blades though.

 

[Inkbender]

Traditional tanto is a pain to sharpen (it is curved).
American tanto is very easy to sharpen (since it's flat).

I avoid both, though I want a kitchen knife with 'sword' tip as I want to learn how to properly sharpen/polish one.

The "flat" "American" tanto is a misnomer.
Again, the blade profile variation whose secondary edge, or sharpened tip, meets the primary edge at a hard angle was used in Japan quite a long time prior to George Washington even being born.

I think marketing has done its job. I too once thought this was a differentiating factor.

 

[dasyuden]

what about the similarities between the european seax and the tanto? in some remote way could the tanto have influenced the seax?

 

[EpicHam]

what about the similarities between the european seax and the tanto? in some remote way could the tanto have influenced the seax?

I doubt it , the Europeans came up with the Seax all the way back at 450AD , the Japanese didn't came up with the shape until the Heian Period by 794 AD.
The Japanese came late to the party by 344 years!
A good 3 1/2 century late.

Ohh man .. don't even get me started on how the Japanese flaunt their so called "folded" steel when the Celts has been doing pattern welding back at 200AD!!!
The Japanese didn't get the hang of it till the 1100AD during the Kamakura period!

I understand the usefulness of such shapes , but just never understood what's with the fetish for japanese swords and knives.

 

[Inkbender]

^ and now I learned something else new-- was not aware of the Seax. Thanks!

 

[Sosa]

Does the tanto enthusiast consider the design a better weapon or a utilitarian tool? Compromise of both? I've never used one.

 

[James Y]

I doubt it , the Europeans came up with the Seax all the way back at 450AD , the Japanese didn't came up with the shape until the Heian Period by 794 AD.
The Japanese came late to the party by 344 years!
A good 3 1/2 century late.

Ohh man .. don't even get me started on how the Japanese flaunt their so called "folded" steel when the Celts has been doing pattern welding back at 200AD!!!
The Japanese didn't get the hang of it till the 1100AD during the Kamakura period!

I understand the usefulness of such shapes , but just never understood what's with the fetish for japanese swords and knives.

Maybe because the Japanese swords and knives (or at least the ones by the quality makers over the centuries) were made exceptionally well?

Virtually every culture has its own great traditions of blade-making. You seem to only be interested in European; many others can appreciate quality work no matter where it comes from. To each his/her own.

Jim

 

[RevDevil]

Does the tanto enthusiast consider the design a better weapon or a utilitarian tool? Compromise of both? I've never used one.

Neither. You are forgetting the most important aspect of the entire equation, the user. A friend of mine that hunts regularly for Javelina, deer, and other game can skin either with just about any knife. He does not need a specific "skinning knife" that is marketed as such. His technique can efficiently complete the task at hand, and I've seen him do it (with a Cold Steel Voyager tanto). The notion that one needs to have a knife for self defense with very specific criteria is misinformation and ignorance to a large extent. Sure it's nice to have a knife that requires very basic gross motor skills to have at the ready, but if a person familiarizes themselves enough with a specific design and learns the limitations and benefits of said pattern what more can one really need?

 

[evanPGH]

Does the tanto enthusiast consider the design a better weapon or a utilitarian tool? Compromise of both? I've never used one.

The curved tanto shape is good at both. I don't have much experience with the angled version.

The ancient Japanese used small utility knives called kogatanas and they were just a scaled down curved tanto.

 

[stabman]

Does the tanto enthusiast consider the design a better weapon or a utilitarian tool? Compromise of both? I've never used one.

A tanto looks a lot like a knife to me.
I use mine as a knife.