Tanto blades?

I don't like the shape of a tanto blade or a reverse tanto for that matter. Give a spear, clip, or wharncliffe. My first and last tanto blade was a CRKT Komodo Gold back many years ago.
 
stabman said:
The tanto is good for precise cuts where the primary and secondary (tip) edges meet up.
That secondary edge near the tip is great for scraping uses as well. :thumbup:

I'd take a tanto for utility uses before picking it for fighting.
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I carry my ZT 0700 for these exact reasons. Precise straight line cuts and utility. It's a tool, it doesn't have to look good in order to be of great use. My tanto normally gets cardboard duty.

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garrett23rd said:
(American) Tantos that most people know, popularized by Cold Steel owner Lynn C. Thompson are great for piercing. Some people love them some people don't. My first decent pocket knives was an original Cold Steel voyager tanto with a plastic pocket clip so they have a special place in my heart
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I recently started EDCing a Cold Steel Tanto Recon 1. I like it. Here it is in action.



The angle at the tip made it very easy to use.
 
How can anyone say an American Tanto doesn't have belly? The secondary tip point where the angles meet is about the best belly/slicer you'll find. Take a recurve and a tanto and set a 5 pound weight on them. Now drag the belly of the recurve and the belly tip of the tanto across a phone book. The American tanto will absolutely smoke the recurve every time. Tantos are like recurves on steroids with a wharncliffe tip for precise cutting.

Add to that they're about the easiest knives to sharpen made. The only people who have issues with sharpening are those who are trying to sharpen it as one edge instead of two, and those who never gave tantos a chance in the first place.

Now if you want to argue the lacking benefits of the spanto grind, I'd agree. But since Rick Hinderer made it, it gets a pass here, and American Tantos are crap because people here (incorrectly) think Cold Steel designed the American Tanto. The grind actually predates the accepted "traditional" tanto even.

About the only place I prefer something else is for an camp fixed blade. Even then I'll still have a folding tanto in my pocket for when I have to get surgical on something. Great utility blades they are.
 
I was never a fan of tantos really. I mean i liked the looks of them but never saw a use for them. Well i decided to buy one to try it out and love it. I work at a sporting goods store and i open and break down a lot of boxes! I mean a lot! The tanto blade style has been very efficient for me and i love mine now. If i didnt bite the bullet and try one out i probably still wouldn't have bought one. I think each blade shape has its own special features but i have been happy with mine. Not to say i dont love all the other blade shapes as well.
 
The first tanto blade I ever remember seeing was the Cold Steel Tanto and I thought it looked cool. I bought one of those first models but never really figured out what to do with it. It was tough for me to sharpen due to the oddball angle at the tip so I put it away and stopped using it. For some reason, I bought a couple of other tanto knives over the years but eventually gave them away. I still have the Cold Steel Tanto but only because I still think it looks neat and it was the original model. But I have zero desire for the blade design these days.
 
I really like some of the later Kissakis that improved on the utilitarian/multi-tasking value, but I've never been a fan of the modified tanto style seen on most Western production folders. I find they trade off a significant amount of utilitarian value for marginal gains elsewhere, and most of those gains are in areas that most people will probably not use their knife for much, if at all (for example, stabbing someone through certain types of soft armor). And while I do think they have some of the most striking visual characteristics, I ultimately favor the knife that is most capable of cutting best in the most situations, which I feel is usually a drop point with a flat grind or saber grind.
 
Like other knife features, the tanto blade has it's uses. My CS GI tanto is an excellent sharpened pry bar for breaking loose painted shut windows and down to the food court they work real good prying gum off the bottom of tables.
 
One thing for sure: you do get some explosive stabbing action with the tanto design. Back in the day, I picked up a Recon Tanto. If memory serves, I believe I paid around $70 for the knife and used it for camping. It was made out of Carbon V. I have been pleased with the edge holding ability and functionality of what I had originally thought was just a military application tool.

The tip is still in good shape after years of use and I never felt funny about prying with the black-coated blade. I feel that these style knives are fairly robust and if you have to pry, you are not going to damage anything. Love them or hate them, this design is here for good.

Also have one of the original, laminated tantos by CS. Still love the grip on that thing and probably was swayed in the direction of snagging one due to the car door stunts they pushed so heavily. Nice knife! Wonder how many nimrods attempted to pierce car doors and drums only to put a major dent in their piano playing facility. Employ gloves and protective eye-gear for such frivolity, or better still, use a chisel.
 
Stubai said:
One thing for sure: you do get some explosive stabbing action with the tanto design. Back in the day, I picked up a Recon Tanto. If memory serves, I believe I paid around $70 for the knife and used it for camping. It was made out of Carbon V. I have been pleased with the edge holding ability and functionality of what I had originally thought was just a military application tool.

The tip is still in good shape after years of use and I never felt funny about prying with the black-coated blade. I feel that these style knives are fairly robust and if you have to pry, you are not going to damage anything. Love them or hate them, this design is here for good.

Also have one of the original, laminated tantos by CS. Still love the grip on that thing and probably was swayed in the direction of snagging one due to the car door stunts they pushed so heavily. Nice knife! Wonder how many nimrods attempted to pierce car doors and drums only to put a major dent in their piano playing facility. Employ gloves and protective eye-gear for such frivolity, or better still, use a chisel.
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I've honestly been curious if the Lum-style Tantos actually provide an advantage over some of the other tanto designs such as the Rick Hinderer Spanto...hypothetically, something like the Spanto also manages to get to that widest point quickly when the physical energy/momentum is higher (which to my understanding has historically been to penetrate soft armor by widening the hole early and wide enough for the rest of the blade to pass?)
 
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