Tanto Blade Folders?

T

tatfiend

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Apr 24, 2013
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Are there any advantages or disadvantages to the Tanto blade in a general purpose folder? They do appear to have a stronger tip than most more standard drop point and clip point blades. I understand that the Tanto blade was originally designed for armor piercing of Japanese samurai armor, and presumably the samurai inside the armor.
 
Slicing may be a bit more awkward... and they look extremely aggressive which could invite trouble depending on your local. Advantages i guess if you were looking to stab ls of things.The only tanto i have had was on my throwing knife though.
 
I would never answer for anyone else, but I like the shape of the blade and the one I have from David Steier that sure suits my purpose, not that I would ever attempt to pierce a piece of sheet metal.tanto 1.jpg
 
tatfiend said:
I understand that the Tanto blade was originally designed for armor piercing of Japanese samurai armor, and presumably the samurai inside the armor.
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No. That is not what Japanese tantos were designed for. Tantos were utility knives and may occasionally have been used to cut heads off-of already dead Samurai, but were not used in combat.

You are talking about the Americanized Tanto design. Not that he was the person who introduced the Americanized Tanto design, but stabbing is what a certain rotund fella at CS claims they were designed for.

I don't see them as being any better in a folder design.
 
CWL said:
Yes, he did, one among many designs that he introduced to the West.
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I remember reading that once upon a time and it stuck with me. Bob Lum was and remains one of my absolute favorite and most inspiring knife makers to date. Sad when other folks try and take credit that just ain't theirs to take.
 
In my view the primary purpose of having a tanto on a folder is to look cool, but they do have some utility when it comes to scraping, chiseling, stabbing car hoods, etc. I know I'm a little strange, but honestly I don't stab that many car hoods (anymore). For general EDC, I don't find them very useful as they have no belly. If you cut boxes open all day at work, all of the wear is focused on that little corner. That being said, the mailman is supposed to bring me today a Cold Steel XL Voyager tanto, so I certainly don't hate the things. They just aren't my favorite for everyday usage unless you have some specific purpose that is accomplished by the shape.



Cold Steel Recon 1.
 
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The tanto is a Japanese battlefield knife, with a blade that seldom exceeded 12 inches. The abrupt point version, so called American tanto, was very rare. The Japanese jinto knife comes in several styles and each has it's own name.
 
I like them, but like Powernoodle said above, it's a specialized thing. I cut open boxes like 4 hrs out of every day of work so when I don't have to cant my wrist to an extreme angle to start the cut (IE using the secondary point to start the cut) the work becomes just that much more comfortable for me.
 
tatfiend said:
Are there any advantages or disadvantages to the Tanto blade in a general purpose folder? They do appear to have a stronger tip than most more standard drop point and clip point blades. I understand that the Tanto blade was originally designed for armor piercing of Japanese samurai armor, and presumably the samurai inside the armor.
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Along with what others have said here, the American tanto is really not more effective than say, a spearpoint at stabbing, at least with today's steels. I think it's mostly an aesthetic thing rather than practicality. The blade shape has grown on me, and I do enjoy the shape. I find myself using the second "tip" frequently which sometimes leads to me rounding it out.
 
Agreed with lack of utility people mention above. It's not too bad, though.

I like the Japanese tanto better...

338px-Tanto_Kunimitsu.jpg
 
I always found that the secondary "point" ADDED utility rather than detract from it.
Some tanto folders are good, some suck rhino's balls.
The bad ones are responsible for the disdain many people have towards the design.

And the tanto point does NOT make the knife "stabbier." It can help keep the tip from breaking off, but if anything it impedes stabbing ability.
 
I also feel the japanese tanto makes a more functional knife. I've heard they often converted swords broken in battle into tantos, so a japanese tanto really could've been designed for combat.
 
stabman said:
I always found that the secondary "point" ADDED utility rather than detract from it.
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Depends on what you're doing, I guess. It's good for opening things. I felt like it would "slip" as soon as I passed the subtip... didn't like the way cutting felt compared to a continuous edge.
 
Goosey said:
Depends on what you're doing, I guess. It's good for opening things. I felt like it would "slip" as soon as I passed the subtip... didn't like the way cutting felt compared to a continuous edge.
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Some tantos have "belly" to the blade as well, thus making them cut much like any other knife.
 
The straight part of the tanto blade cuts just like a wharncliffe or a sheepsfoot with a straight cutting edge. I got a CQC-7 for cheap that was beat up and planned on grinding the tanto tip off and making a short wharncliffe with a wave. I never got around to it but I might break out the Dremel when I get a free minute now. :D
 
The tip area is great for scraping stuff as well.
Have to scrape off some paint/rust/glue residue? Break out that tanto!
 
I like the American Tanto blades. I do not notice any disadvantage when compared to say a drop point or a leaf shaped blade. It's all in how you use it I guess. It's not harder for me to cut cardboard, food, paper, open mail, etc with one than another. If one were to use rudimentary/gross mechanical motions to do every bit of cutting, then yes it would be a hinderance.
 
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