Any info on grinding tantos?

Joined
Sep 23, 1999
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Hello Shop Talk Forumites!!!

I was thinking about making a fixed blade that could be abused. I might be getting into Search and Rescue, so I have been dreaming about knife designs.

Anyways, I have had trouble finding info here on the subject. How do I grind a tanto? I jave a Sears 2X42, so it will have to be flat ground. And I was thinking of making the knife 7" or so (7" edge length) and something like 1.5" wide, 1/4" thick. Something I can cut with, but also chop, dig, pry, etc. Basically I'm looking for a TOPS or a strider, but I want to make it.

Thanks forumites!
 
Crayola-

Good to hear you are really digging into this knifemaking stuff! :)

I have a Strider type tanto in the works right now... not my typical style but a customer wanted one.

After everything was profiled and layed-out, I ground the main bevel on both sides. Then I ground the tip, and finally the clip edge.

With more traditional tantos the blade bevel blends all the way through the tip, but with the "Strider look" the bevels are sharply defined. The trick is to get sharp lines, but grind the point down so that it's got a nice edge geometry as to have good piercing abilities. Some makers just grind the bevels so that they have sharp grind lines from one bevel to the next, but they're left with a really blunt point. Gotta' have aesthetics and function :)

Let us know how it turns out and post some pics!
Nick
 
Do you do all that freehand Nick? Flat ground or hollow?

I watched Tom Anderson doing really nice even false edge grinds by clamping the blade to a heavy duty piece of angle iron. The angle acts as a heat sink and the blade grinds came out perfectly even.
 
peter i have made both flat and convex grind americanized tanto's i do the tips free hand just slow the machine down, take your time and visualize what you want as you gently find the angle after dunking. what i think looks neat is a convex blade with the bevels flat ground on the point. well i just desided to make a couple more!
 
Peter-

All my grinding is completely free-hand (hollow and flat) but I'm definitely thinking about setting up some sort of jig like that for grinding clips on blades. It's really hard for me to get it even when you are grinding such a small surface area. Of course I HAVE to get them even or the knives won't sell, but I bet Tom did that pretty quick with his angle iron set-up. I'm not quick by any means.

This particular blade has a hollow ground main bevel and a flat ground tip and clip. It looks cool and it gives it better piercing geometry as a hollow on the tip would create a concave wedge...not to conducive to piercing. But then again, I hope this knife never gets used for that function anyway. Unless it's the *different* lady that looked at my push-dagger and said she likes them for "tenderizing roasts." Yep, she was different... ;)

Nick
 
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