Feedback on my Tanto design

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marcinek said:
Out of curiosity, what is the Apex Pass Around? I am unfamiliar with it. Is Apex a knife discussion group or knife brand or something?
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It's a group of Youtube reviewers that include Blade Banter, Big Red EDC, metal complex, staasa, Nick Shabazz, Slicey Dicey, LTK etc
 
Damneddesigns said:
It's a knife, it's sharp, as long as the ergos are good, i assume you can use it for anything that you use a knife for. I get different blade shapes have different uses ex slicing/ scraping etc. What application do you see this knife design can't be used for?
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I'm not going to tell you what your knife is for. You designed it...that is your decision. :thumbsup:

Me, I believe there is much more to designing a functional knife than making it sharp.

What do you use knives for, and what about this knife makes it good for your use cases?
 
marcinek said:
I'm not going to tell you what your knife is for. You designed it...that is your decision. :thumbsup:

Me, I believe there is much more to designing a functional knife than making it sharp.

What do you use knives for, and what about this knife makes it good for your use cases?
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As a consumer, what do you use your knives for? Can my knife cut stuff? Yes. That's the functionality i was going for unless there's something specific you or other consumers require that needs incorporation in the design.
 
Damneddesigns said:
As a consumer, what do you use your knives for? Can my knife cut stuff? Yes. That's the functionality i was going for unless there's something specific you or other consumers require that needs incorporation in the design.
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Can it cut it well? Can it fillet a fish? Can it baton a log? Can it whittle? Can it slice bread? Can it make a feather stick? Can it stab a 55 gallon drum?

There is quite a bit more to making a knife than branding and a sharp hunk of metal.

Figuring out those things and knowing how to actually incorporate the features that allow a knife to perform them is what a knife designer (or any designer, for that matter) does.

Best of luck to you. Go out and use some knives. See how knives work. :thumbsup:
 
marcinek said:
Can it cut it well? Can it fillet a fish? Can it baton a log? Can it whittle? Can it slice bread? Can it make a feather stick? Can it stab a 55 gallon drum?

There is quite a bit more to making a knife than branding and a sharp hunk of metal.

Figuring out those things and knowing how to actually incorporate the features that allow a knife to perform them is what a knife designer (or any designer, for that matter) does.

Best of luck to you. Go out and use some knives. See how knives work. :thumbsup:
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lol sure. Perhaps every knife's sales listing mentions exactly what the it's functionality is and I've just missed it
 
Damneddesigns said:
lol sure. Perhaps every knife's sales listing mentions exactly what the it's functionality is and I've just missed it
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No. You can see from a well-designed knife what it is intended to do.

I'm sorry. Knife design is more complicated than you think. You do make a clever logo. Logos don't cut things.

Seriously. Go out an do some things with knives.
 
marcinek said:
No. You can see from a well-designed knife what it is intended to do.

I'm sorry. Knife design is more complicated than you think. You do make a clever logo. Logos don't cut things.

Seriously. Go out an do some things with knives.
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You're taking the logo and branding out of context. It was in response to a question ABOUT branding. I'm sure I can do enough with this knife and i'm sure you've got other knives that serve your needs better. Thanks for the input as useless to me as it was.
 
Damneddesigns said:
You're taking the logo and branding out of context. It was in response to a question ABOUT branding. I'm sure I can do enough with this knife and i'm sure you've got other knives that serve your needs better. Thanks for the input as useless to me as it was.
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I'm sorry you feel that "knives are designed to function" is useless input. Best of luck with your knives and fidget spinners.

You may want to read this

https://www.bladeforums.com/help/exchange-rules/

to see if gold membership allows you to promote your knives or include your company name in your screen name. :thumbsup:
 
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Good luck in your venture...looking forward to seeing your products.

Some feedback:

When cutting downward, the angle of the grind can interfere. See my crude circles below.

0F1CDE51-915B-418B-ABF4-97FB08E955E4.jpeg

Jimping on the flipper can be uncomfortable on the top of your index finger.

Also, it seems like the ergos may be a tad stretched from the lower finger placement vs your top thumb.

A524E007-BC3E-48EB-AA14-4914004C60BC.jpeg


Pretty nice little knife overall. My personal preference does not care for tanto styles as much as knives with belly, but that’s just me.

I like the clip!

It will be neat to see your final products.
 
MolokaiRider said:
Good luck in your venture...looking forward to seeing your products.

Some feedback:

When cutting downward, the angle of the grind can interfere. See my crude circles below.

View attachment 1190403

Jimping on the flipper can be uncomfortable on the top of your index finger.

Also, it seems like the ergos may be a tad stretched from the lower finger placement vs your top thumb.

View attachment 1190405


Pretty nice little knife overall. My personal preference does not care for tanto styles as much as knives with belly, but that’s just me.

I like the clip!

It will be neat to see your final products.
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Thank you!
The jimping on the flipper has been tested on two of my protos and there was no negative feedback. I'm going to 3D print the knife tomorrow to check the ergos. I'll share my thoughts once I do.

I did this as a drop point variant
69289151_694310047704156_6755895990814769152_n.png
 
Damneddesigns said:
Thank you!
The jimping on the flipper has been tested on two of my protos and there was no negative feedback. I'm going to 3D print the knife tomorrow to check the ergos. I'll share my thoughts once I do.

I did this as a drop point variant
View attachment 1190420
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This is definitely a blade shape I prefer in use.

It will be neat to see your knife in hand.

What steels are you considerering?
 
Great...yet another flipper knife with no purpose but to be sharp and cut stuff.
Not trying to be rude, but M marcinek is right. If you want your knife to succeed like a CRK, Holt, or Shiro, gotta design it with a purpose. The “coolness” of knives will pass...and only us old knife users will be buying purpose built knives. Putting thought into the purpose of your design helps it stay in the hands of the original owner, instead of ending up on the exchange a week later. This is probably “useless information” to you, so take it how you will.
Good luck with your endeavours!
Keep ‘em Sharp
 
To me the top of the handle sticks out too far causing the plunge line to be angled more thereby reducing cutting efficiency at the back of the blade. Is there a reason for such a drastic angle to the scales or is it just a design choice? It also makes the blade to handle ratio seem off.

How thick is the blade stock? What is the length and height of the blade? It looks very chunky.
 
Tough crowd. They both look nice and with such high grinds I am sure they will cut fine, unless the blades are 1/4 inch thick. They look as useful as most modern designs and a lot better than many. Keep it up and don’t get discouraged. Love to see the final product.
 
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Just for some creative criticism from a designer’s perspective....

Without knowing the overall size, the blade looks very ‘tall and squat’. It’s not a bad thing per se’, but if the blade is 3” - 3.5” or so, it looks like it would feel very wide in the pocket (similar to a Manix 2). If the overall height isn’t that big, looks like the blade would be only around 2.5”. But this could just all be optical illusion, especially with the drastic angle on the tanto.

Either way, the blade ‘looks’ a tad too squat aesthetically for my preferences. But there is definitely a market out there for the overbuilt chisel look, and those that like it would eat this up.

microbe said:
It looks a little too beefy for my taste. If that is your goal, unfortunately I am not your target group. Maybe if it would be stretched out a little, I would actually have use for it.
slHoOp3.jpg
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Stretching it out definitely makes it look better, with a more usable blade shape. I know this probably varies quite a bit from your ideal for the knife, but I see this as a much more user friendly design.

Damneddesigns said:
I did this as a drop point variant
View attachment 1190420
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The drop point makes a world of difference in this, from a usability standpoint. Has a bit too much belly for my taste, but as tall as the blade is, it kinda forces the belly size. Would probably make a great skinner at 3.25”.


Just to echo what a few others have said, a design - any design for any product - really needs to have some thought process to its purpose. There’s a design principle known as Gestalt (German word for form or shape), in which “an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts”, which in Industrial Design boils down to form follows function. So while your knife may have sharp edges, and be physically able to cut things to one degree or another, without any thought to it’s end function, it may not do it well, or comfortably, or easily. If you design it with aesthetics in mind, first and foremost, it becomes more of an object of art than a usable tool.

A chef’s knife is shaped the way it is for a reason. You don’t see many tantos in a kitchen.
Good camp axes all have a similar basic shape that works well. You don’t see many hawks chopping wood.
A Delica, Griptilian, or Buck 110 are all great EDCs because their blade shapes are all versatile for, and lend themselves to, a myriad of uses - a Jack-of-all-trades if you will.

I think this is what people are getting at. They don’t see your blade shape as lending itself to any particular use, and are having a tough time seeing any versatility in it either. They can’t see any function behind the form. It’s ok if it’s just meant to be pocket jewelry, or to sit in a collection, as there is a place for that as well - if that’s its function. But usually, an object with that radical of a shape, has a very specific function it’s designed for.



By they way, just out of curiosity, what software are you working in?
 
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Damneddesigns said:
Thank you!
The jimping on the flipper has been tested on two of my protos and there was no negative feedback. I'm going to 3D print the knife tomorrow to check the ergos. I'll share my thoughts once I do.

I did this as a drop point variant
View attachment 1190420
Click to expand...
Looking good. Do your thing man :thumbsup:
Don’t mind those looking out for you too much. It’s their job :)
 
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