I've seen many japanese originals and I've never, ever, seen one with a chisel grind (even if I know that some extremely rare examples did exist), or a chisel point, for what matters.
What is a chisel point on many "tactical" folders around is actually two edges that meet at an angle.
Original japanese blades had two differently curved lines meeting at a certain point in the blade, and there's an enormous difference in efficiency and sturdiness.
Actually I find the only real advantage in modern ground "tanto" points is that having to cut heavy materials like leather, the angle in the edge comes handy, but it gets dull quickly and subsequent resharpenings, no matter how well you do them, tend to round it out.
There's really no advantage in my experience in such design.
Poor penetrating shape, poor cutting shape (more often than not these blades have a completely straight edge) and you must use great care in resharpening.
True, this point is extremely sturdy, but I don't plan going around stabbing tanks on daily basis, nor know anybody who needs to do so. It's a design that came out due to fashion, generated by interest for oriental-shaped blades and their supposed (mythical) superior quality and the need for cheap mass production techniques.
An oriental (japanese) blade is truly made with superior metallurgy, used to produce a blade which is perfect for a given, very narrow, set of uses. Actually most katanas are more delicate and prone to bending than most western styled swords.
Myth, again, is the keyword.
They are extremely beautiful blades, very effective in slicing, but we can't and must not ask them to perform tasks they weren't conceived to perform.
Japanese blades were NOT conceived to stab. Their point wasn't that way to allow powerful stabs and penetration into samuari armor. that's MYTH. A katana used to stab armor would almost invariably bend, or even break.
Not even all katanas had that point style.
Katanas were made to CUT. Occasional stabs to face, neck and armpits or underarm were made, but they were opportunity strikes, not what you wanted to achieve.
So, saying that "tanto" points are the ideal shape for powerful stabs is complete nonsense.
We have plenty of examples of weapons made for powerful stabs: what many knife firms have been saying in the last ten years or so has no relevance in front of
centuries of evidence, of field proven designs, of weapons used to kill armored opponents again and again, year after year, decade after decade, century after century.
None of them, not even one, has a "tanto" point.
If you intend to realize traditionally styled japanese blades, go for the traditional (symmetrical) grind, apple seed style.
If you want to make modern styled tantos, then you can use whichever grind you prefer.
Chisel grind depends on the fact the user will be right or left handed, is cheaper, faster to do but has several drawbacks. The fact that it sharpens better than traditional grind is only, I'm afraid, due to myth (again) and/or very poor sharpening skill of those who state so.
I'd leave chisel grind for the tools it was developed for: chisels, and grind my knives as knives, they have been ground this way for many thousands years, and who am I to say that all those smiths were idiots?
it is not about function. you will hear some thing about it being(tactical) ? but it has a lot more to do with fashion than fuction. you or someone you know may have said something about these lefty grinds, like "the blade roll's over on me!" when its held in you right hand.
