San Mai III Real Steel!

[res1cue]

(Grow Up Guys)

You are asking too much of this crowd

Master tanto is a very well made knife. Make sure to get the post-2003 version with VG1 center instead of AUS8 center though.


2 Master Tantos

Size comparison with the Recon Scout on top, Recon Tanto next, Master Tanto after that, and lastly the (sadly) discontinued Mini Tanto

same knives, fanned out

sorry for poor quality pictures.. bad lighting and crappy camera

 

[MrTroubleSnake]

You are asking too much of this crowd

Master tanto is a very well made knife. Make sure to get the post-2003 version with VG1 center instead of AUS8 center though.


2 Master Tantos

Size comparison with the Recon Scout on top, Recon Tanto next, Master Tanto after that, and lastly the (sadly) discontinued Mini Tanto

same knives, fanned out

sorry for poor quality pictures.. bad lighting and crappy camera

Excuse me, but [expletive deleted] They're beautiful. Whos the little guy tsuba gaurd?

 

[res1cue]

Cold Steel Mini Tanto, for the longest time they were made with a brass guard like the master tanto's, but then in 1993 I believe they started doing stainless steel tsubas. Then shortly after that (94 maybe?) they discontinued them, and are hard to find now, especially the steel tsuba ones. They were never available in San Mai III, or VG1 (CS didn't start using VG1 till 2003), which is unfortunate.

It is perfect EDC size with 4.5" blade. It was designed originally to be 2/3 the size of the master tanto, but that is misleading, because they actually meant 2/3 in ever dimension and since a knife is a 3D object, it is 2/3 * 2/3 * 2/3 = 8/27th

 

[cziv]

Cold Steel Mini Tanto, for the longest time they were made with a brass guard like the master tanto's, but then in 1993 I believe they started doing stainless steel tsubas. Then shortly after that (94 maybe?) they discontinued them, and are hard to find now, especially the steel tsuba ones. They were never available in San Mai III, or VG1 (CS didn't start using VG1 till 2003), which is unfortunate.

It is perfect EDC size with 4.5" blade. It was designed originally to be 2/3 the size of the master tanto, but that is misleading, because they actually meant 2/3 in ever dimension and since a knife is a 3D object, it is 2/3 * 2/3 * 2/3 = 8/27th

What's their original tanto from back in the late 70's. It was very pricey - close to $169 - $200? Beofre they made any others.

 

[res1cue]

I think since that was before tantos became mainstream, it was actually called "the tanto".

It switched to master tanto when they adopted san mai, and that was pretty much the only difference. Then later on they switched from brass to stainless furniture Shouldn't be that expensive back then, seeing as here is an old ad from who knows when:

Of course seeing as I wasn't born until the 80's I don't know much about it

 

[cziv]

I think since that was before tantos became mainstream, it was actually called "the tanto".

It switched to master tanto when they adopted san mai, and that was pretty much the only difference. Then later on they switched from brass to stainless furniture Shouldn't be that expensive back then, seeing as here is an old ad from who knows when:

Of course seeing as I wasn't born until the 80's I don't know much about it

Thanks, guess it was a little cheaper than I thought. I really wanted one bad but had just got married and had a little baby, so I bought a lg Voyager with integral pocket clip (part of the handle). It was around $50. I was so proud of my "high end" folder.

I had until a few yrs back and the clip was getting funky. CS sent me a brand new one - since those old ones said guaranteed for life!

 

[res1cue]

Thanks, guess it was a little cheaper than I thought. I really wanted one bad but had just got married and had a little baby, so I bought a lg Voyager with integral pocket clip (part of the handle). It was around $50. I was so proud of my "high end" folder.

I had until a few yrs back and the clip was getting funky. CS sent me a brand new one - since those old ones said guaranteed for life!

That's awesome! Did they give you a new version of the one you had or the current model?

 

[cziv]

They gave me the new kind with a metal clip not the new G-10. This was a couple of years ago. They were very nice and no questions asked. :thumbup:

 

[res1cue]

That certainly is a win for you, seeing as since they got discontinued, their price has gone way up. I saw a X2 sell for 200 on ebay, and larges and XL's go for 150 easy.

 

[cziv]

That certainly is a win for you, seeing as since they got discontinued, their price has gone way up. I saw a X2 sell for 200 on ebay, and larges and XL's go for 150 easy.

You're kidding? I wonder why so much?

 

[res1cue]

Beats me. I guess purely because it is no longer available.

 

[TwinStick]

IIRC, the thought behind "San Mai" was to make a blade with a center metal that is more chip resistant so-to-say, and the two outside pieces for strength, which is how swords were made a long time ago. Too bad they quit making that little tanto, thats neat.

 

[Jason B.]

IIRC, the thought behind "San Mai" was to make a blade with a center metal that is more chip resistant so-to-say, and the two outside pieces for strength, which is how swords were made a long time ago. Too bad they quit making that little tanto, thats neat.

Close,The idea is to have a hard steel with good edge retention in the center with softer clad steel on the sides to give the blade strength. Though a similar concept old swords were not made in this way. They used a soft center with a hard wrap of steel, think of it like a corndog.

 

[P1GEONPOO]

And by the way, its "you're."

Wow you learn something new everyday. Thanks.

 

[ron_m80]

TroubleSnake,

Asside from the knives being discussed, there are other makers that make blades specific to your useage.

Ka-Bar, the original, the grind maximizes the thickness of the blade all the way up to the tip, but the deep clip point allows for a highly functional piercing point.

Randall made Knives, the Model #1 a combat proven design still used.

The newer Cold Steel leatherneck isn't too bad in my opinion. and the price makes it more reasonable for military use.

 

[marcinek]

Wow you learn something new everyday. Thanks.

My pleasure! Indeed one does.

In fact, ever since you said earlier that I'm "...either seriously stupid or seriously ignorant." for not knowing "....what was meant by "some serious steel"" I've been waiting for you to educate me on what exactly "seriousness" in steel is, and how it is measured. I'd certainly love to learn that! :thumbup:

"Serious" or "badass" knives I understand. With steels, not so much.

 

[P1GEONPOO]

My pleasure! Indeed one does.

In fact, ever since you said earlier that I'm "...either seriously stupid or seriously ignorant." for not knowing "....what was meant by "some serious steel"" I've been waiting for you to educate me on what exactly "seriousness" in steel is, and how it is measured. I'd certainly love to learn that! :thumbup:

"Serious" or "badass" knives I understand. With steels, not so much.

If you don't already know, I doubt you ever will. Don't worry about it, it isn't that big of a deal anyway.

 

[marcinek]

If you don't already know, I doubt you ever will. Don't worry about it, it isn't that big of a deal anyway.

Well shucks. Now I'm going to go through life, as you say, "...either seriously stupid or seriously ignorant." for not knowing what makes a steel "serious." I thought if anybody could explain it, it would be a guy who calls himself "pigeonpoo." Drat.

Maybe somebody has a bar graph or something that could help me out? One of them pie charts maybe?

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Maybe I could just close this already. The insults aren't good enough for Whine & Cheese, and the knife discussion has gotten hard to find.

Thanks, marcinek, we didn't really need another thread on whatever this was supposed to be, did we? You might consider spending more time in W&C, though.