I hate American tantos

Lycosa said:
I can't buy the Crow on the head thing.
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When I would go to the casinos in a.c. It was told : if a seagal (bird) pooped on you it was good luck, you should go do some gambling. I always found it to be the opposite.:mad:
 
singularity35 said:
Are they basically weapons then?
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They can be.

The Hartsfield style traditional grind is also a very efficient cutter/slicer. Ones like the Lum that are more Americanized, not so much.

I'd be willing to bet that both of those PH pieces are lasers. The gray one looks like it's double zero ground (from here) and the natural wrap looks like a RH chisel zero. Pretty slicy stuff.
 
Well, I am glad to see that I'm not the only one who finds the glorified box cutters to be unattractive.

Then again, many very useful shapes are unattractive. I don't think I'll carry that thought any farther... ;)
 
What I mean is, are they designed to be primarily weapons? Or are they also designed for utility? I'm not asking if they can be used for utility because any sharp piece of metal can be used to scrape or separate media if the need is sore enough.

evanPGH said:
They can be.

The Hartsfield style traditional grind is also a very efficient cutter/slicer. Ones like the Lum that are more Americanized, not so much.

I'd be willing to bet that both of those PH pieces are lasers. The gray one looks like it's double zero ground (from here) and the natural wrap looks like a RH chisel zero. Pretty slicy stuff.
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singularity35 said:
What I mean is, are they designed to be primarily weapons? Or are they also designed for utility? I'm not asking if they can be used for utility because any sharp piece of metal can be used to scrape or separate media if the need is sore enough.
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Tough question.

The tanto is historically a blade shape associated with Japanese swords BUT the smaller utility knives that are paired with the sword (kogatana, kotanto, kozuka etc.) share the same blade shape. Obviously they were ground differently but the overall profile stays close to home.
 
evanPGH said:
Tough question.

The tanto is historically a blade shape associated with Japanese swords BUT the smaller utility knives that are paired with the sword (kogatana, kotanto, kozuka etc.) share the same blade shape. Obviously they were ground differently but the overall profile stays close to home.
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Ok, fair enough. What about "american" tantos?
 
singularity35 said:
Ok, fair enough. What about "american" tantos?
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My opinion? I think they're useless. They're designed for piercing but I've read several tests that show the traditional tanto shape is better for penetration (giggity).

Some argue that having two flat edges can be good for some tasks, I don't find them to be particularly useful but as always, YMMV.
 
evanPGH said:
My opinion? I think they're useless. They're designed for piercing but I've read several tests that show the traditional tanto shape is better for penetration (giggity).

Some argue that having two flat edges can be good for some tasks, I don't find them to be particularly useful but as always, YMMV.
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Gotcha.
 
Somehow I've managed to accumulate a few of them:


CRKT M16 Big Dog:
DSC_6620b.jpg


Spyderco Lum FB:
DSC_7073b.jpg


Cold Steel:
DSC_7075b.jpg


Cold Steel GI Tanto:
photo537b_zpsf1efe7a0.jpg


Benchmade 760:
IMG_2829b_zps249ad5ac.jpg


Kershaw Zing:
IMG_2828b_zps846df8ac.jpg


(And my newest, a Benchmade 912 Stryker)
 
o4tg said:
Depending on the use, I like them. They sharpen up super easy and the tips are strong yet still have enough sharpened surface to puncture stuff. I find I can be a lot more precise doing pencil hold cuts with them as well for more detailed work.

My recommendation is to spend less time hating grinds you don't like the looks of, and spend more time enjoying the grinds that work best for you. :)
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I know of about three of the Forums I visit that could benefit from this mindset. Thanks.
 
o4tg said:
My recommendation is to spend less time hating grinds you don't like the looks of, and spend more time enjoying the grinds that work best for you. :)
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Totally agree. Over the course of about 5 years of carrying a small tanto grind (american-style) pocket-knife I only ran into occurrences/uses where I was glad to have a second cutting tip or a chisel/scraping edge on the tip - never once did I say to myself: "damn self, why did you buy a knife with a blade geometry that won't do the job." And that's all that matter to me personally or else I wouldn't have carried the knife for so many years.

I found it to be just a utilitarian/functional general use design that doesn't look geometrically pretty or sexy... and that unfortunately also has a tacticool stigma now, even though most don't necessarily follow the form or function the original tanto design when you look at the details. I probably never would have even tried the grind in a pocket knife because of the stigma except for the fact that I had enjoyed using dive knives in the past that had blunted or similar chisel-type tips (some even more obtuse); similar to the american-ized tanto shape that's become sort of ubiquitous in the market with pocket knives as well now.
 
I think the hate for them goes a little like this:
"I don't like the way they look, so they're stupid and useless, and you're stupid and useless for liking them."

In reality, knives are for cutting things.
Tantos cut things...because they are knives.

Get over it; there are real things to worry about.
 
stabman said:
I think the hate for them goes a little like this:
"I don't like the way they look, so they're stupid and useless, and you're stupid and useless for liking them."

In reality, knives are for cutting things.
Tantos cut things...because they are knives.

Get over it; there are real things to worry about.
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I totally agree with this logic Stabman. :thumbup:

BTW, is the Canadian Tanto shaped like a beaver tail? Just curious as I've never seen one before... ;):D
 
"To understand the tanto is to find out what a tanto isn't.

Phill Hartsfield
 
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