OK convince me on a Tanto

Y

yans

Joined
Jun 20, 2001
Messages
282
All right I am thinking of buying a new folder for Christmas. A four inch locking Tanto. Now the dilema I have never owned one before and really see no advantage the Tanto gives, so why should I take the plunge and try one?

Please No Mall Ninga answers of being able to pierce through 15 attackers and then using it to rescue everyone in town. I use my knives for work and hunting not to defend the country from all the bad guys. I just want serious uses that the compound cutting blade can give. Having never owned one is there an advantage?
 
Because you want one. Well, the tanto tip makes stabbing into boxes, etc easier and is a stronger tip.
4" locking tanto, how about a Buck Strider?
Or A CRKT M16 (3.88", but only availible in combo edge)
 
yans said:
All right I am thinking of buying a new folder for Christmas. A four inch locking Tanto. Now the dilema I have never owned one before and really see no advantage the Tanto gives, so why should I take the plunge and try one?

Please No Mall Ninga answers of being able to pierce through 15 attackers and then using it to rescue everyone in town. I use my knives for work and hunting not to defend the country from all the bad guys. I just want serious uses that the compound cutting blade can give. Having never owned one is there an advantage?
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I don't think you should get a tanto. It is good for toughness if you are pushing the knife to its limits. I've also read that it will maintain direction in a stab better (go straighter.) But for general utility purposes I don't find them as useful for most things. Since thats what you seem to want to use it for, I don't think you should get one.
 
Tantos are better "heavy duty" knives as they have stronger tips and better penetration. They will, however, drive you crazy trying to sharpen them.
 
From a slightly overweight hillbilly non mall ninja perspective-

The strengths of tanto blades (esp. chisel ground ones) really come in when knocking around town or a construction site. The secondary edge is extremely handy for scraping gaskets and such, and it's very easy to maintain a decent cutting edge, not always one that'll pop hair, but one that will function throughout the work week. They can sometimes be horsed and pried with a little bit, (at your own risk of course) I haven't been above driving screws with mine when 1/4 of a mile from my toolbox or leatherman. Partial serrations on mine have been very nice for cutting plastic hosing and thin piping. they're not bad for opening boxes or cartons, and you really don't have to worry much about the tip. (ie dropping it and such) I've found the tantos pretty handy for knocking around town and perfect for working around metal, shops, machinery. For beating in the woods, preparing meals, picking slivers, cutting sticks, etc. the tanto quickly loses favor.

The ones I've had the most experience with are the BM Stryker (among the most versatile knives I own), BM/Emerson 975, and the CRKT M-16 12 and 14. Unfortunately my Buck Strider went the way of the dodo before I could really give it much of a chance.

Bear in mind, this is just the perspective of a simple small town whiteboy what ain' never had ta guard no malls. :D
 
Now that respomce was what I was looking for!!!!! I drive a cement Mixer for a living and am allways cutting hoses, boxes,gaskets. As for the chisel edge does anyone have a suggestion?
 
I have a 4" Cold Steel Voyager tanto that I like very much. It has a thin high grind and takes an extremely good edge; AUS8 is excellent cutlery steel and very tough. As for sharpening the 'chisel' edge, sharpen it just as you would a chisel. I have no problem getting a hair popping edge. Maybe not as all-around useful as a spearpoint or clip, but the design is very strong. If you want a user-abuser, look at the Buck-Strider tanto. That oughta hold up to any abuse a cement truck could dish out.
 
I guess I'll be the first one to suggest the Emerson CQC-7. My BM/Emerson was my favorite knife for the uses forementioned in my last post, and if it had any drawback it was that the full four inch blade was just a tad unwieldy at times. The CQC-7 maintains all the features I loved about mine while alleviating that one minor aggravation. (and you can get a "waved" model! :D )

by the time I traded off my 975 I had worn a recurve into the blade from using and sharpening it so much.

As far as versatility, I'd suggest taking a look at that poor neglected BM Stryker. It doesn't do all "tantoish" things extremely well, but it is extremely veratile in all around use.

Incidentally, my best friend is in construction and he absolutely swears by the M-16 12 I gave him some time ago. I personally find the small M-16 too small and the large one too large.... :p
 
if ya want a tanto the emerson I&I sports (4") or the SOCFK (a CQC7 blade on a spec war handle that is waved) would be the way to go imho.

actually the spyderco lum tanto is pretty good too (imho better than anything BM has in a tanto) and really is a better all around knife than the emersons, but they dont make them anymore IIRC,
 
Well, I've never been really a tactical type person. I bought two CRKT M16s, both the smaller size, one had zytel stocks and a drop blade while the other had aluminum stocks and the tanto blade. For my general uses, the drop point worked better for me... mostly cutting boxes and opening boxes. I did like the aluminum grips better though.

Doing some highly regulated 'stabbing layers of cardboard' testing, I think the drop point went deeper with similar force though looking at the blades, I think the tanto is wider so that would make sense. But, looking at the blades and wondering which would hold up to the most stabbings, I would probably have to go with the tanto.

For sharpening, it takes some getting used to or finding a pattern that works for you, but it's easily do-able.

Overall, for me, the tanto just doesn't seem quite as practical as drop or clip points. I love the way they look and if I honestly though I was going to be involved in a stabbing contest, I'd probably bring a tanto. But in *my* real world, if stabbing was a possible concern, I carry a gun and much like Indiana Jones, would rather use it that the stabbin'-est knife in the world.
 
mrd74 said:
Get a Benchmade 722 while you still can...it does not have a chisel edge.
Click to expand...
Yup...That's the one to get...Axis-lock, dual stainless liners, G-10 scales, 154CM steel, reverseable clip...Perfect.
 
I don't mind tanto style knives. I have two currently. A BM 975 and a just rec. M16-04 in plain edge. Of the two I would definetly say the M16 is more heavy duty while the 975 is truly more defensive oriented. I have only had the M16 for a couple of hours and I have to tell ya it is a very stout knife. This is an early version with the high hollow grind on both sides of the blade and it doesn't have the LAWKS thing. The liner lock is very solid on it as it passed the spine test with flying colors.

The 975 on the other hand is a slimmer knife, with the Emerson style grind but it is just done way better in my opinion. A much thinner edge and belive it or not it sharpens way easier. It is ATS34 too. It is also the easiest swinging knife I own in the liner locking style. I mean the blade just absolutely glides out and the lock up is superb. It has not budged one iota and I have carried this alot in the past few yrs.

As for using either one I have whittled fuzz sticks with the 975 and shaved wood for fires, cleaned some small game and cut tons of packing tape, insulation, and used the tanto to scrape with although sparringly. The coating seems to be very tough on it to as it has a black blade and isn't really worn through at all. For defensive purposes I can see how one of these style of knives makes sense especially if you keep the point as pointy as it can be and the sharpened portion as sharp as the main blade. It pierces like crazy and is stout to boot.

I am really kind of sold on them actually for edc now that I reflect on it. May have to look for a smaller sized Stryker or 975 or maybe the carbon fiber handled CRKT of the designation that escapes me now, something like M13 CF or something. Fairly cheap at less than 40 bucks. Hope all this helps. You can also look on ebay and the forums here for used ones. The M16 I just rec. is one of the first iterations of this style knife and is worth inmho way more than what I paid for it,which was 37 bucks shipped! Keepem sharp
 
Always feel compelled to add this-
There is nothing about the tanto shape that makes a blade stronger than other common blade shapes. It's all in the execution. Clip points can be made stout and thick, just like tantos can be made slender and pointy. Granted, many makers happen to make their tantos stout to fit the image; but the shape is no gaurantee.
 
the possum said:
Always feel compelled to add this-
There is nothing about the tanto shape that makes a blade stronger than other common blade shapes. It's all in the execution. Clip points can be made stout and thick, just like tantos can be made slender and pointy. Granted, many makers happen to make their tantos stout to fit the image; but the shape is no gaurantee.
Click to expand...

It is a good point that the shape is no guarantee, but if you are comparing a clip point and tanto point of exact equal thickness, the tanto will have more metal near the tip of the blade and therefore it will be stronger. It goes without saying that something really thick like a ER fulcrum IID with drop point will be stronger than say an emerson cqc-7B tanto which is much thinner. But the tip on a IID should break before a IIT simply because there is less metal near the tip (assuming it is possible to break these :) )
 
I agree that it would probably come down to looks. I don't see much disadvantage in utility use. It is a bit more difficult to sharpen since there will be only about an inch of secondary edge, this shouldn't be much of a problem however if you're using a bench stone, or if you strop/touch up often.

One major advantage for me at least is: if you have to cut paper or other sheet material while laying on a serface, like if you have to cut sencils or once I had to cut out lables for sliding drawers, the two different tips will offer twice the amount of effective cutting time. I guess that's not really that big of a deal, but it's still it's something that may interest you.

It isn't bad for utilitarian carry, I EDC my 722 and have no problems. About the stabbings, I like to start my cuts with stabs, I don't know why. The tip on my 722 is a pointy mother f|_|ck3r too.
 
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