Anyone Like the Cold Steel Tanto?

I've got one of the originals in mystery 400 Series stainless with the brass hilt, and holes drilled in the tang to give it the right balance. Awesome knife, still; you could bet your life on it.
 
I do! I do! I have had one for several years. Very, very sharp and easy to keep that way. Great balance too.
 
I've got a 13AN 6" Tanto - Nice. Sharp as all heck and I love the way it feels in the hand. The handle is more than long enough for my hands and it's fun to just wield and visualize techniques that employ that pointy pommel :) I don't carry or use mine -- I've been thinking of building a little wood stand to display it and my CS Mini-Tanto edge-up style. I wish they made some of the longer Magnum models (and especially the Mini!!) with the single guard since I like to put my thumb on the spine of the blade for more control when cutting.

I also have a 7.5" Oyabun that I do use to hack and cut stuff -- same steel (I got mine b4 they went to the 420 stuff) and similar blade profile. I like this knife a lot too, and am not afraid of gunking it up or scratching the blade during use. If I were planning on carrying any of these pieces in the field I would probably send it down to Normark to have a sheath made. The leather ones aren't all that bad, and the 13AN and Mini sheaths are quite nice even, but Concealex is king for real-world use if you ask me...

PM
 
I dont have any from the tanto series, but I do have the recon tanto. It's a different steel but the has the same tanto shape basically. I dont think anything in the world could break that thing.

(See my post "It's not a car hood but...")
 
Hi There!

The Cold Steel Tanto is "THE Tanto" that started it all. The American Tanto. To me this particular tanto IS Cold Steel Knives. So if you ever decide on a Cold Steel product, start with this classic. None better in the realm of factory produced Americanized-Tanto. Do I like it?? YES! YES! Oooooh YES!!!!

Krizzard. out.
"...Whoever kills with the sword must be killed by the sword... "
- The New Testament, Revelation 13:10
 
The Cold Steel MASTER Tanto is THE Tanto. Well thats what I think. I have one of the originals and though it doesn't get much use now its still one heck of a knife. The krayton gip gives a bit on the tang as its so old and I'm on my second kydex sheath.

To me its an excelent urban fixed blade. Well capable of some prying and carries a tough point and keen edge. The pommel is a good glass breaker. However, out in the woods it lacks chopping power and looses out to more utilitarian designs.

Its true that it made Cold Steels name and caused a huge stir when it first came out. The advertising was as about as loud as Busse's is now. But the product was a revelation to the point that it, Al Mar and few others forced the Blade industry to take a huge leap forward.

Its a classic.
 
Funny thing this...

I have a CS Tanto with the words "San Mai" on one side. Probably the mysterious 400 series steel? During a camp where I was one of the cooks providing a hot meal to about 40 hungary campers, I had to cut up a huge 5kg chunk of meat in to bite-sized slices for a chinese stir-fry.

The knife only managed to get through about 1/4 of the chunk before it started to take too much effort to continue cutting. It would still cut, but not smoothly. Maybe because it was too thick? My Spydie Endura finished the task and was still pulling through the meat quite easily at the end.

Had to re-sharpen the CS Tanto on the Sharpmaker (full sequence) before it would start cutting properly again.
 
Steelwolf,

I'm not that surprised by your account. San Mai Japan and what looks like a water mark 1/3 inch in from the edge should be seen. The steel is a sandwitch of softer outer with a harder core. This style of blade is an urban survival blade: American tanto. It gained quite a following as a back up weapon for body guards as it has one tough point, sharp blade, can pry and looks intimidating. You can break the point if you try hard enough (same goes for anything). It was "the" knife you bought after you had purchased your Sig 226/228 handgun.

I used mine full time for about four years. It works well as an urban blade. However, I do remember having to sharpen it quite often as it wasn't that difficult to take the keenest of edges off. Cutting meat and vedge: it did struggle as the thickness of grind and tanto design works against it. The chopping problem I've mentioned. In truth I retired it as it didn't work that well as a utilitarian blade. Funny, at the time I had a Spyderco which ended up doing more work, better. About this time I switched to a CR Project and never looked back for a full sized belt knife.

I now rely more and more on folders and its my pen knife that still does more than anything else.

The Cold Steel Master Tanto is a classic: "The Amercan Tanto" and has its place. It is a specialised tool; an uban survival knife. Which translates: most people don't need one and if you do get one don't expect the earth at anything other than what it was designed for.

Times have moved on. How good a new CS tanto is today I don't know. Mine has paid its way a few times now.
 
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