Fixed blade Tanto recommendation?

B

Benbo

Joined
Nov 10, 2010
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I'm new to knives and am just starting my folding knife collection, but I would like to look into fixed blades as well.

I've always loved traditional Japanese blades. I see that Cold Steel makes a series of Tanto knives and swords, and while they are rather attractive, I don't know enough about them to just pick one up.

I'm looking for high-quality craftsmanship in a functional, not purely decorative blade--one made from the newest techniques and technology that stands out with the best of them in addition to serve as an art piece.

I should mention that my bank account is not a bottomless pit, so museum pieces are out of the question. Where should I start looking?
 
Benbo said:
I'm looking for high-quality craftsmanship in a functional, not purely decorative blade--one made from the newest techniques and technology that stands out with the best of them in addition to serve as an art piece.


Where should I start looking?
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Well, your best bet would be here at Bladeforums.

Go to 2 subforums here. First, Click on "Makers" then "fixed blades." Second, Click on "Exchange" then "For sale by individuals" then "custom."

For the price of a Cold Steel tanto (of which there are many variants), you can get one that is a handmade one-of with the steel, profile, grind and handle you like best.

Keep an eye out on those two subforums for a couple of months and you will eventually see something you like at a price that is good for you.

Do you have any preference as to profile, steel, or handle?
 
Benbo said:
Not exactly. I'm not sure what to even look for.

How do individually crafted knives/swords stack up to ones manufactured en-masse? Would they be prohibitively expensive?
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Depends on the maker, some command a pretty high price, many are very competitive.

Here are a couple possibilities for "Tanto" style production knives

Bark River Tanto
BRKT-LtdEd2009Tanto-DIB-1.jpg


Kanetsune Ten
KanetsuneTen-3.jpg


Kanetsune Katana
KanetsuneKatana-2.jpg


Kevin
 
Depends on the maker, quality, and materials. I recommend a CAS Iberia Tactical Tanto to start with. Excellent quality for the price, and more 'traditional' blade and construction than Cold Steel.
 
Ok I'll start exploring the forums mire. But I still need to figure out what I should be looking for. What should a modern high-end tanto blade have in it?
 
Custom knives can be inexpensive if it is a new maker or if an established maker has leftovers from a show.

If being sold by a private individual you can get even better deals, especially in late November thru early December, as folks are trying to raise money for the holidays.

Best bet when dealing with a private seller is to check how long he's been a member here and what feedback he has. Look at the photos, ask questions about condition. Most sellers ship via USPS insured Priority Mail with delivery confirmation.

Rather than starting out with an expensive high end tanto, perhaps you should start with some lightly used production models and customs. If you don't like the look or feel of what you get, you can either put it up for trade or pay the fee for a Gold membership and resell it. Or you can gift it to a friend at Xmas.

Go to gun shows, knife shows and cutlery stores and handle various knives there. That will give you a better idea than looking at photos.

I'm assuming you're looking for a semi-traditional style large tanto with tsuba and silk cord wrapped handle to use primarily as a display piece?

If you really like tantos you may as well look into smaller ones for EDC. Bud Nealy and others offer small tanto-style knives for utility and SD use.
 
I'm not into martial arts, nor am I an expert on Japanese knives, but if you look up the definition of Tanto the general translation is "small knife" or "small sword" mostly intended for stabbing but often also capable of slashing. Blade length of approx. 15 - 30 cm.

Technically the examples I posted above are border line too large to fit this category.

I have never seen any reference to a specific style in the traditional definition.

But I generally think of Tanto style having a thick robust tip, i.e strong and suitable for stabbing.

After that, it depends on what you want in the knife, what you are going to use it for, and your budget.

If it is going to be a display piece, I have seen many advertised for around $50. (these may be OK quality as well, but I don't know)

If you are going to use the knife, then you may want to invest in high quality steel, good solid handle, etc. High Quality knives from reputable makers/manufactures can start to run $200 and more pretty easily.

Damascus is often thought of as being traditional for Japanese knives. I'm not certain as to how historically accurate that is. I suspect hundreds of years ago that many peasants had knives made of whatever they could get there hands on.

Kevin

EDIT: check out Japanese Knife Direct for some ideas http://www.japaneseknifedirect.com/
 
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The Cold steel recon tanto is cheap and useful. I had one for 1 year, used the hell out of it. It never chipped or anything but i had to send it back after 1 year because the handle came loose, Cold Steel said it was a production fault and replaced it with a brand new one which i traded for a Fallkniven S1. Great knife for the money though.
 
Well there are some good options but since you are new to knifes i think you should NOT go buy the most expensive knife there is. you should just search here or on ebay for some off brand knife or sword. once you get into knifes and understand what "quality" is you should know what brand you want for functanality and looks.
 
To answer the steel question, for a tanto I would suggest learning about San Mai. If nothing else it is very interesting.
 
Howdy Benbo and welcome to BFC.

As a knifemaker that appreciates all things eastern when it comes to blade styles, and based on your specs I'd definitely check this dude's knife out.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=788744

He seems like a good guy and while I haven't handled one of his knives personally yet, my correspondences with him have been solid, his feedback has been good and his prices fair.
 
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