Tanto blades seem so impractical

I find the secondary tip very useful as a sort of xacto knife for cutting things on a flat surface. just a good blade shape for utility use.
 
B Hess said:
Do tanto blades have any real practicality? They seem so inferior to drop point blades for just about every use.
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I have had a couple of Tantos that I used pretty extensively and that is pretty much exactly what I've found. They aren't useless by any stretch, but they just don't seem to have any advantages over more traditional blade shapes IMHO.
 
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B Hess said:
I guess I'm speaking more about the American tanto then.
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Little factoid of info. What we commonly call the American tanto here does actually have some origin in Japanese tantos. In Japan it was called the kiriha zukuri.
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I won't list all the Japanese sword lingo, but if you want to really dig into the stuff: http://www.shibuiswords.com/terms1.htm

My particular tanto has a ko-kissaki (tip style) with a rounded fokura (part of the edge from the tip to just before the flat edge begins).
 
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I was watching Murray Carter's Advanced Blade Sharpening, and he actually recommended just grinding off the corner and smoothing out the curve/adding belly... The tip is still as strong, but it adds substantial slicing ability.

Looked pretty cool actually.
 
Personal favorite of mine, Hinderer's Spanto Blade (Spear/Tanto combo) Best of both worlds IMO. Strength, looks and functionality.
 
Direware is doing some interesting things with tanto-style blades, too. Way out of my price range, but way cool, just the same.

Greg Lightfoot's blade grinds are also a modification on the tanto grind. The "subsonic tip" maintains some of the stability of the original tanto, while the less pronounced transition makes for a more conventional blade experience.
 
American tantos are great for all kinds of tasks. I really like the secondary tip when cutting open boxes and that sort of thing. I feel it gives a lot of control.

For skinning something they would be horrible but for just about anything else I like them. I have 2 american style tantos as edc's as well as a more Japanese style one, I like them all.
 
The_Guide said:
I was watching Murray Carter's Advanced Blade Sharpening, and he actually recommended just grinding off the corner and smoothing out the curve/adding belly... The tip is still as strong, but it adds substantial slicing ability.

Looked pretty cool actually.
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That's kind of what Rick Hinderer does with his "spanto" blades. The edge is basically a tanto with the corner ground off.

Edit:

beaten kinda
 
I have two large Sebenzas, one drop point and one tanto. Both have a deep hollow grind along the main edge. Cut food nicely. The tanto is better in the woods, saves me from even thinking about damaging the tip.

It is difficult to talk about "the tanto" since some are chisel grind, some v grind, some sabre, some hollow, some tips are chisel, Sebenza tanto tip is convex.
 
Shorttime said:
What Picksmith is doing is very similar to the original purpose of the tanto, actually. It's just that his doorframes don't fight back!

I have a couple tanto blades that I EDC sometimes. The point where the two bevels meet is handy for starting cuts, because I don't have to bend my wrist so far over to engage the point. The more stable tip also means that I don't have to worry as much about snapping the blade if I do something wrong.
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You would be surprised, some of them want to do you harm. People will adjust commercial door closers to ludicrous tension to slam a problem door. I remember one call I got last year where the front door of an apartment broke a woman's arm when she was carrying in the groceries. It's not infrequent for a person to put their hand through the glass trying to stop one that is improperly adjusted. It also plays hell on the hardware. When the deadlocking pin on a spring latch is solidly bound or breaks I've used a kobun to "slip" latch's that have mangled dedicated latch knife tools. One time it saved the day at a grade school when a teacher and her students got locked inside the classroom. I find it useful as a wedge, light prying tool, chisel, etc. Abuse that would do serious damage a finer tip, or when I need a chisel's edge but a chisel is too thick to reach.

I've reground this one a few times.
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powernoodle said:
With a grizzly bear attack, you drop the knife and run. The bear stops to smell the fear on your tanto blade, giving you time to jump into your Kia Sportage.
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Well, if I could outrun a grizzly bear I'd be afraid some of my Olympic gold medals would fall off. But I suppose I could retrieve them later.
 
Can't resist a brief derail.

Picksmith, are you the one who put up your Kobun in the "let's see those users" thread?
 
Appletz said:
What about thick, chisel ground tantos with a zero edge? Those do seem genuinely tough and simple to maintain. They won't be prepping any fruit salad, but it seems like a solid hard-use combat blade. But in general, I agree. Most American tantos look cool but are a bit gimmicky. Blades like the below picture are one implementation of the American tanto that I really feel has merit, though.

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Apart from the sword shape shown above, that is a specific use Japanese eel knife design.
 
B Hess said:
Do tanto blades have any real practicality? They seem so inferior to drop point blades for just about every use.
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What empiricle evidence are you basing this off? Have you used a tanto blade for any extended period of time? The knife that Hark has posted is no where near a drop point, makes me wonder if you know what defines a drop point.
 
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