Explain the tanto

N

nevil

Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Messages
246
I've had a few tanto blades and never liked them. They don't seem to cut anything even though the edges seem sharp.

Please explain this blade to me. I'm starting to believe its for looks and nothing more, but I read reviews by owners that love their tanto bladed knives. Maybe I just don't use it the way its designed.
 
Tanto shape is supposed to be for piercing. It design gives it very strong tip shape. In my experience, its easy to slice with a clip point or other similar shape. I was watching the demo video of the recon tanto on cold steel's website, and they show good fighting/defensive use of the shape. With a flick of the wrist, the blade portion at the tip can really cut.
 
they don't seem to cut even though they are sharp?

mine cuts and it cuts anything that gets in itz way...

plus it will go thru a car hood...............:D
 
Many tantos have thick blades with a steep edge geometry. These knives are not that great at slicing, while a tanto with more sensibly ground edge can cut just fine. In fact, tantos reground by one of the forum members are know to be some of the best slicers around.
 
THE PUNISHER said:
they don't seem to cut even though they are sharp?

mine cuts and it cuts anything that gets in itz way...

plus it will go thru a car hood...............:D
Click to expand...

I'd have to side with DarkKnight, going though a car hood seems like piercing. But yes, cutting things like a thick rope seems to always take two swipes on a tanto knife rather than 1 on a similar size clip point.
 
pvicenzi said:
Many tantos have thick blades with a steep edge geometry. These knives are not that great at slicing, while a tanto with more sensibly ground edge can cut just fine. In fact, tantos reground by one of the forum members are know to be some of the best slicers around.
Click to expand...

Maybe that is the problem then. Its something to look for if I go with a tanto again. What are good tanto folders that come not so steep?
 
The Tanto Blade was originally designed for one thing and thats piercing, I carry one almost every day, a benchmade 9100 I have found the tanto blades to be a little more difficult to sharpen than most blades but cuts very well and is a stout design... I also have a CQC7 Tanto blade and it gets carried alot as well...
 
I like the CQC7B, but a lot of other people are not fond of the chisel grind.
 
nevil said:
I'd have to side with DarkKnight, going though a car hood seems like piercing. But yes, cutting things like a thick rope seems to always take two swipes on a tanto knife rather than 1 on a similar size clip point.
Click to expand...

Not if you do it like this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grmevfb-8D8&feature=player_embedded

Go to the 18 second mark...:)

IMO, the tanto seems like a better fixed blade shape than EDC folder. I have a tanto and clip point folder, and I think the clip point works better for most of my everyday tasks. However, I am not as afraid to pry and pierce tougher materials with the tanto folder than I am with the clip point. Blade shapes all have their advantages and disadvantages, and its all what you need to do with it.
 
The Americanized Tanto was designed to do 2 things: (1) look "cool"; and (2) sell knives.

Clearly, it fulfills its those expectations brilliantly.

As a cutting instrument...cuts worse than a sack of doorknobs.
 
The right tool for the right job.
If that is so, the right job for a tanto is piercing. Yes, it does cut (I had my Benchmade CQC7 laser sharp when I EDCed it) but it's definitively not what I would consider the best blade shape and geometry for slicing or for a folder.

My CQC7 was maybe my first "serious" folder but now it's basically for show on my blade cabinet. Nowadays I would only consider EDCing it if I really couldn't use any of the other dozens of folders that I have.
 
marcinek said:
The Americanized Tanto was designed to do 2 things: (1) look "cool"; and (2) sell knives.

Clearly, it fulfills its those expectations brilliantly.

As a cutting instrument...cuts worse than a sack of doorknobs.
Click to expand...


Bing, we have a winner!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
Historically the tanto was just a long knife or a very short sword (shorter than the wakizashi). It did not necessarily have the chisel ground tip as you typically see on tantos today. Although many Japanese swords, do have that chisel like tips they more up-swept than say the tip of an CQC7 or a Cold Steel Voyager. After WW2 possession of a sword was illegal in Japan and many of the swords were destroyed and some people rather than have their heirloom swords confiscated cut them in half. That more blunted chisel like tip eventually found its way to Western knife makers and sort of became the standard tanto type of blade. At least that's the way I understand it - and I admit I'm no expert.
 
Everybody has different needs for the knives they own. I for one use my Tanto blades often on the job for scraping and piercing. I also happen to like chisel ground knives. It's a preference. My chisel ground blades are razor sharp! ;)
 
Yep, there are 2 kinds of Tantos:
1. Traditional or Japanese; and
2. Americanized.

Traditional wasn't meant to be an armor piercer, more of a utility blade and it could cut, including the heads of defeated enemies.

Americanized -as made ubiquitous by Cold Steel (but created by Bob Lum), was made with a tip to pierce car doors and oil barrels. The hundreds of companies following were all out to make a buck and didn't care about edges or correct geometries.
 
Per "The Americanized Tanto was designed to do 2 things: (1) look "cool"; and (2) sell knives. Clearly, it fulfills its those expectations brilliantly. As a cutting instrument...cuts worse than a sack of doorknobs."

That's the line I often hear, and it may be true of some knives. It's not true of the Cold Steel tantos. Don't knock the tanto until you've tried a good one. If you expect it to behave like a clip, drop or spear point...it won't since it's not.

I have the large Cold Steel Voyager tanto in AUS8a with an intergral clip. It cuts very well and is quite strong and has taken abuse for many years. It cuts much better than a sack of doorknobs. You can abuse it and pry with it and not worry about tip breakage. I've done lots with this knife that would have cause my tip to break or chip, but have no problem with the Tanto. It's a good design for someone who wants a very strong tip.

The blade portion is straight...just like the warncliffe design that so many who hate tantos love.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top