Should I go TANTO?

D

DeltaActual

Joined
Mar 30, 2012
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38
Hi guys

I'm looking at TNK exclusive CRK tanto, and I really like it. The question is - is there any advantages in tanto blade vs regular spear point in daily use? Will that TNK exclusive hold value in the future?
Thanks in advance!
 
Advantages: tip strength, penetration?
Disadvantages: no "belly" for slicing, potential sharpening problems for the inexperienced?

If you like it go for it.
 
If you want it to hold value....don't use it. Then it doesn't matter if a tanto has any advantages in use.
 
If you really like it, buy it.

Does that style of tanto actually have any advantages over the regular drop point in daily use? For my money, it really doesn't. If anything it would just be a pain in the balls for me due to the added difficulty in sharpening and decreased slicing ability, but that's just me.
 
Tanto is good for stabbing and I have edc'd a tanto and used it every day at work for a whole year and cutted all types of things with it, and I also thought tantos looked cool but I came to the conclusion that a Clip Point and Spear Point looks better and works better.
 
If you want it for self defense and stabbing then yes. They cause more stab damage than spear points.
Because the main edge is straight it will open a stab wound wider on withdrawal due to the edge making contact with the wound longer.

For EDC Tanto blades suck, mainly as Crom said, having no belly for slicing.

As far as sharpening is concerned, the main edge and tip edge must be sharpened separately.

Spear points don't do as much stab damage but are more all rounded for SD and EDC
 
I just bought a CRK large sebenza tanto from there got it about a week ago. sharp as hell. great knife. tanto are usually made for stabbing and penetration. the tip will also be stronger. you can still use it for cutting tasks works great even without the belly on it becuase its so sharp. Chris Reeve will sharpen and clean it for free just send it into him and pay return shipping. I just used it to cut out a broken windshield but it def damaged the tip a lil bit and took some edges down a tad. but hey knives are meant to be used. should hold value def if not used maybe even increase in value over time. even a used one that you sent back to CRK should still hold a good value maybe slightly less than when you bought it.
 
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I tried a couple tanto blades for EDC and ended up reselling them. They aren't great at cutting / slicing tasks and I didn't find much occasion to stab through metal or armor, so the tanto fad quickly faded with me.
 
CalBearTactical said:
spear points are actually really good for stabbing.
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Never said they weren't, but they don't do as much damage as a tanto.
If you look at the edge it's curved so when you pull it out, unless you pull down and back, it stops making contact with the wound so doesn't open the wound further as easy as a tanto.

You can test it yourself stabbing into a a piece of cardboard with both of them, both sharpened the same with the exact same blade withdraw
 
If you're not sure about the tanto just buy a cheaper folder first. The large Cold Steel Voyager tanto should run you under $50 and you can see if you like it.
 
Dorito Monk said:
If you really like it, buy it.

Does that style of tanto actually have any advantages over the regular drop point in daily use? For my money, it really doesn't. If anything it would just be a pain in the balls for me due to the added difficulty in sharpening and decreased slicing ability, but that's just me.
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It's actually easier to sharpen a tanto with just two straight edges. Curved edges are more challenging to sharpen perfectly.

I would also add that the tanto sebenza does have some belly and isnt a completely straight edge.
 
mongomondo said:
If you're not sure about the tanto just buy a cheaper folder first. The large Cold Steel Voyager tanto should run you under $50 and you can see if you like it.
Click to expand...

One cool thing about voyagers, Unscrew the thumb studs and tie a cable Tie through with the cable tie "buckle" resting on the spine.
Knife will now open wave style
 
Tank20 said:
I just bought a CRK large sebenza tanto from there got it about a week ago. sharp as hell. great knife. tanto are usually made for stabbing and penetration.
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CalBearTactical said:
Tanto is good for stabbing
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djjonny said:
If you want it for self defense and stabbing then yes. They cause more stab damage than spear points.
Because the main edge is straight it will open a stab wound wider on withdrawal due to the edge making contact with the wound longer.
Click to expand...

I am curious - why do you guys seem to think that the tanto sebenza will be 'good for stabbing' or 'made for penetration'? The idea that tantos are 'good at stabbing' or allow for 'easy penetration' seem to get tossed around a lot, but it seems that people are mostly just parroting something they heard in a Cold Steel marketing video without actually understanding the mechanics behind it.

IIRC, what we think of as the 'tanto point' was designed to improve the strength of a sword's tip (my understanding was that this innovation was necessary to compensate for metallurgical limitations of the time which resulted in brittle, fragile swords that couldn't stand up to striking armour or bone). The tanto tip might be stronger than other similar designs and be better suited to withstand damage, but it's not going to penetrate or stab better - if anything, having a thicker tip with more material immediately behind the edge would put the tanto at a disadvantage in that regard. A lot of designs, like spear points, stilettos, and any design with a thinner profile and less material near the tip will be much better suited to penetrating than a tanto.

EDIT: Furthermore, my understanding is that this type of tip was phased out a long friggin' time ago when technology allowed for stronger swords, and more slender, pointy tip designs became the norm.

Like this:
2388539564_39d22857e6.jpg



Also, I laughed pretty hard at the bolded portion. "Tanto point +1 stab damage on hit". :confused: As if that tiny chunk of extra material near the tip would make any noticeable difference when you're jamming a huge chunk of steel into someone over and over... :rolleyes:

hqdefault.jpg


"This guy who got stabbed eighteen times with a tanto point knife is WAY MORE DEAD than this guy who got stabbed eighteen times with a clip point knife." :rolleyes:
 
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I have a CS Recon 1 Tanto. I have carried it for 3 yrs or more. I like it. The thing about knives & sheaths is: they are like your spouse, everyone likes something a little different. I have even batoned with my Recon. I thought i ruined it because it was soooo loose afterwards. But then i just tightened all the screws up & it was good as new. It is excellent IMHO. But, not for everyone.
 
Dorito Monk said:
I am curious - why do you guys seem to think that the tanto sebenza will be 'good for stabbing' or 'made for penetration'?
Click to expand...

I can not tell you what others mean, but my take is that if you see your needs as including stabbing and needing to penetrate things, then a (well made) tanto would be a good recommendation because it has a stronger tip that will survive this use better than some others.

No doubt that you can penetrate a lot of things with just about any tip geometry if you have to. But if you project some sort of need that involves penetrating sheet metal, and this need will be regular...you might want to invest in the tip that will survive it the longest (or get the correct tool for the job:D)
 
when I first got my CS Voyager Tanto 2011 version I slashed a cactus with it like it was nothing, so some tantos might work good for slashing depending on how sharp it is. The Voyager was razor sharp out of the box.
 
unit said:
I can not tell you what others mean, but my take is that if you see your needs as including stabbing and needing to penetrate things, then a (well made) tanto would be a good recommendation because it has a stronger tip that will survive this use better than some others.

No doubt that you can penetrate a lot of things with just about any tip geometry if you have to. But if you project some sort of need that involves penetrating sheet metal, and this need will be regular...you might want to invest in the tip that will survive it the longest (or get the correct tool for the job:D)
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Ah, okay. That does make sense, especially in the context of the historical use of this here tip design. :thumbup:

So, if you anticipate trying to stab through car doors or plate carriers or some such nonsense on a day-to-day basis, I can see why you might want to bring a knife that can withstand the abuse, even if it means taking a hit on how well the knife cuts or performs during the rest of that other mundane stuff. In the role of dedicated car-door-stabber, I can definitely see the advantages of the tanto point. :p
 
Tantos are good for stabbing? People are still parroting this?

You guys really think that a "spear point" can't stab & penetrate? Look at the pictures of the 3 Sebenzas above and use your brain ... which design is the least likely to penetrate?

FYI, original Japanese Tantos weren't meant for stabbing, but just carried as utility knives. They certainly weren't meant for going through armor.
 
I don't see any real advantage to a Tanto as an EDC. There are many things they don't do as well as other blade designs and only one that I can think of that they do better. IMO, the increased performance in penetration is a myth. Is the tip stronger, yes. Does it go through things easier, no of course not. There is a lot more metal in the tip (so you need to poke a bigger hole to acheive penetration)AND the geometry for poking a hole in something is not good. (unless of course you can get that blade tip up to about 2800 FPS!).

The one thing I have found that a tanto does well is that the "corner" of the blade where the main edge meets the tip can be used to press cut material without near as much danger of cutting to deep. Like if you were goint to cut open a box with fragile contents. if you have a large folder and use the tip you could easily cut to deep and damage the contents where as if you use the "corner" on the tanto it can slice without going very deep.

lastly, they look cool.

Precision
 
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