Hello first time post and a Tanto question

S

Slabwax

Joined
Sep 28, 2013
Messages
92
Hi, I'm new to the forum and the knife disease. I will try to keep my question somewhat intelligent and informed for someone with no blade experience.

I've just recently started my small collection. Friday I ordered a couple of new knives. The one in question is a Yari II Tanto. This seems to be a well regarded knife for the money. But after spending too much time on the forum these past couple of days it seems that the Tanto style blade is not the most loved for everyday (non combat) use. I'll be using this knife for basic camping and backpacking. Is this a blade I should keep, or would I be best served by selling it and trying to find a drop point copy? The drop points seem to be harder to come by and cost a lot more. Any advice for a FNG? Thanks in advance.

Dean
 
First off, welcome to bladeforums!

In my limited experience, drop points are much more utilitarian as they give a larger cutting "belly" so to speak. You can rock on the blade as you cut, making smoother quick cuts.

On the tanto, these rocking cuts are a little difficult, as the tip is slanted upwards. Makes for a less smooth cut.

Sharpening drop point blades is easier as well, with tantos, you have to pay attention to the two blade angles. If you sharpen a tanto like a drop point, you'll round off that second point.

You might lose a bit of tip strength with the drop point, but for day-to-day tasks, cutting is more common than stabbing.

For camping, I'd recommend a blade like the Becker BK2; and for backpacking (if weight is an issue) then the ESEE laser strike, or ESEE4.

- Michael
 
Your tanto should be just fine. The main reason people hate on them is because they are more difficult to sharpen. But if you're just planning on sending it to the manufacturer for sharpening, then you'll be fine. Enjoy your knife!
 
I've never found tanto's to be more difficult to sharpen I just find the blade shape to be less useful. My preferred blade is a clip point with a nice belly and for a straight blade I like a wharncliffe/sheepsfootish style.

To answer the ops question I would say give your new knife a shot, you might love it. Best things to do with knives, or anything really, is to figure out what you like and not worry about what everyone else is doing. Welcome to the forums.
 
Thanks all. The BK2 looks nice, maybe down the road. Right now I'll just get to know what I have. Thanks for the advice.
 
Welcome to the forum. Before you started reading you believed the knife was right for your needs. Use it with that mindset and see what happens. I've seen plenty of folks with non traditional knives, guns, cars, bikes, etc, make it work despite the popular opinions.

I like tantos and often use one in the bush. I have a no name custom I bought on the exchange that is a heck of a wood processor. I also carry a slipjoint for food prep and other slicy tasks when camping. So the straight edge of the tanto is never an issue. Good luck and enjoy your new blade.
 
I just sharpened a Gerber Auto 06 that I am setting up for sale somewhere. Its not harder to sharpen but its not that useful of a blade. It's very tactical but take that out of the equation a slip joint will cut an apple better than a tanto shape.
 
A tanto can be used for everyday, but for camping use I would go ahead and try to find a drop point style knife. There are tons of good options as a drop point fixed blade is one of the most common knifes made.
 
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