How does it go when you sharpen a Tanto blade?

peacefuljeffrey

peacefuljeffrey

Joined
Feb 24, 2001
Messages
1,308
I have stayed away from tanto blades because of a concern I have about sharpening them.

When the blade is originally ground, the two edge bevels meet near the tip (the classic angle of a tanto) at a line that I assume is determined by which part of the edge is ground last.

A curved belly of a blade is easy for me to sharpen. But what happens to that meeting point on the blade when you sharpen a tanto blade? Does it round-out? Is there a technique used to keep the edge nice and square? Do you have to do anything special to keep it from rounding out, i.e. slow down and grind very carefully near that point so that the blade doesn't slip on the sharpener and you end up sharpening the tip bevel along a slant?

Can a tanto blade be ground on both sides, or are they all chisel ground? (I don't recall having ever seen one other than chisel.)

Are there any tanto-blade enthusiasts here? Care to make a case for them? I kinda want a reason to get one, but won't do it until I am sure I'd be able to sharpen it well on my own. Thanks. :)
 
well will try to answer your q's best i can............

*not all tantos are chisel grinds - the spyderco lum is an example of a 2 bevel grind tanto, and the BM stryker (most of them) is another, and a lot of fixed blade tantos are "V" ground also (ie greco, MOD razorback). but most i would say are CG blades.

*i simply sharpen mine(CG blades) in 2 steps, sharpen the long part, then sharpen the short or tip part of the blade. i do it exactly like suggested on the emerson web site, stroke till ya get a burr, etc. i do use a steel vs a peice of cardboard, seems to work better for me. i have never had problems were the 2 angles converge, it is still very distinct, i guess ya could try and "sweep" the whole knife edge in 1 stroke and do this, but it has never happened to me.

*do not try and sharpen both sides on a CG blade like ya would a "V" grind, it wont work, BTDT, ya will just have to send it in and get it reprofiled if ya do, and it wont get sharper to boot!

*main reason i carry tantos are looks, some models i like are only tantos, and the tip is stronger i think.

*and the CG blade is not that hard to sharpen, only different, imho, my EKI SOCFK and CQC8 both shave easy. and my BM stryker CG is REALLY sharp, believe me!! all it takes is time/practice/a desire to learn how, imho

greg
 
I sharpen the "belly" first, then the tip. The angle that they meet at is preserved. I don't see why it is perceived as difficult.
 
Tantos are not the most utility orientated shape, but they are fun, different and everyone should have at least one, a big one. I've got the older style large Cold Steel Voyager tanto, a classic. It's ground on both sides, much better than chisel grind. The knife has seen hard abuse, I've pounded it with a brick, drove the point into a door pin with a hammer, used as a planting tool, etc. It's still in good shape. The AUS8A sharpens up pretty easy and a fine grit paper takes out most of the scratches. With stones, I sharpen the two step way. With a Spyderco Sharpmaker (preferred way), it sharpens just like any other knife, no two-step needed.

Get one, but get a beater and have some fun with it.
 
I prefer to sharpen my tantos with my Gatco: seems to nicely preserve the junction of the two edge bevels. I routinely maintain the edges on a Norton polishing cloth, laid on the edge of a table , in the two stages mentioned above. I feel tantos get an undeserved bad rap on these forums. I simply love the three I have in my EDC rotation: Spydie Lum, BM Stryker, and a lg. MT SOCOM...and my usage is strictly utility.
 
Greg, my 6/99 SOCOM has the V grind. I don't care much for the CG, mainly because of the austere appearance of the back side of the blade. Also, the MT has a slight curvature or "belly" in the primary cutting edge, as opposed to the straight primary edge on the Stryker.
 
the hamaguchi (sp?) or applleseed grind on the lum is done just like the others, you just have to keep the angle right, and it is angled a little different, but i had no probs w/my spydie lum folder, if memory serves it was just a little thicker on the edge, not lotsa diff imho, almost like the nealy pesh kebz tip(a more obscure knife ya prob havent seen, w/a thick tip, hard to describe)

shivey, is your SOCOM a M/A or D/A, i didnt think they made tantos w/M/A, but i could be (and prob am) wrong, lol, i have been wanting one for a while, have a few SOCOMs, but no tantos. have never actually handled one, and wondered if CG or V grind, thanks for info.

greg
 
Greg, my SOCOM is indeed a M/A. It has the silver blade coating and a plain edge. I've been carrying/using it since last March, and it still functions and looks like it's new - quite simply one of the finest knives I've ever owned. I bought a beautiful new clip blade 1/99 model to put into service if I should tire of the tanto, but it remains NIB.
 
Can someone walk me through the steps of sharpening a tanto blade? I just found out that's what it is. And just in case, would it be unwise to sharpen a tanto that never has been sharpened? It is completely dull.
 
Some time ago i received an older model SOG Autoclip with BG42 steel tanto blade.
The knife was very dirty and the edge had been badly mistreated and was completely gone.
The previous owner had been using it as some sort of screwdriver as well as a scraping tool, and he actually wanted to throw the knife away.

But with the help of an old tootbrush, some Blue Lube Cleaner and a Tormek sharpening machine it's almost as good as new again.

The blade was removed from the handle, and both V-grind edges were sharpened separately.
Both could also treetop effortlessly afterwards,















 
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