Recommendation? Tanto camping knife?

K

knifeandgun

Joined
Aug 10, 2013
Messages
1,041
hello!
Alright so a buddy of mine asked me to help him find a fixed blade for his car ( beater for maintenance) and for camping.
Ya you read that right ha
I told him to get two blades but he pretty set on getting one.

he wants a Tanto fixed blade..with preferably non rubber handles. Around 4inchs
Annnnnnd with a sharp notch near the tang to cut rope ect..
Ya kinda specific
I told him the notch will likely not be found but I’m having trouble thinking of “camping” knife tantos..
His budget is about $200 so that’s good

I’m not really sure what to tell him so I’m open to suggestions haha

Thanks guys
 
The logical choice for me would be a Cold Steel Recon Tanto in 3V ($150), but it doesn't fit most of the bill. Maybe an Ontario Ranger RD Tanto ($75)? But it's super heavy and chunky, and there are much better steels than 5160. There aren't many production knives out there that are in tanto and a decent enough steel, let alone without some form of kraton handles, to be a good beater/camp knife.

He would be better off buying a Cold Steel Recon Tanto in SK-5 ($42) and spending the remaining cash on a camp knife that fits what he wants better.
 
You might want to help him rethink his choice of blade design. I personally like tanto style blades for work knives, but think they are lousy camp knives. I have found the tanto design to be pretty lousy for almost all camp chores like food prep and cutting up meals, marginal at firewood tinder cutting, and not great at equipment repair, and impossible for processing small game.

Robert
 
For $200, you might be able to get a custom from someone on the forums here. Decent steel + tanto + his rope notch + G10/micarta/wood? handles.

Benchmade Nimravus has tanto (no notch) + metal handles + 4.5" blade.
Buck TOPS CSAR is close.
TOPS Interceptor
 
Thanks guys! I’m tryif to convince him but he won’t budge.he really should have two separate blades for these tasks.

He will mainly be using the Tanto tip for leverage to open/pry parts on his off road fun car
Honestly I have no idea what exactly but he’s been using one for years and he just wants to replace it with a good one.
The thought of prying metal kills me but hey that’s what he wants.
 
gazz98 said:
For $200, you might be able to get a custom from someone on the forums here. Decent steel + tanto + his rope notch + G10/micarta/wood? handles.

Benchmade Nimravus has tanto (no notch) + metal handles + 4.5" blade.
Buck TOPS CSAR is close.
TOPS Interceptor
Click to expand...

Any specific knifemsker in mind?
Thanks man
 
knifeandgun said:
Thanks guys! I’m tryif to convince him but he won’t budge.he really should have two separate blades for these tasks.

He will mainly be using the Tanto tip for leverage to open/pry parts on his off road fun car
Honestly I have no idea what exactly but he’s been using one for years and he just wants to replace it with a good one.
The thought of prying metal kills me but hey that’s what he wants.
Click to expand...

Prying? Metal? Go with 3V. 3V will be his best bet at not destroying the knife since it's tough as hell.
 
Oh, he wanted a tanto for prying? Check out https://www.bladehq.com/item--TOPS-Knives-Mini-PRY-Knife-Fixed--9415

knifeandgun said:
Any specific knifemsker in mind?
Thanks man
Click to expand...

I'd ask here -> https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/wanted-knifemaker-craftsman-related-services.871/ and see if anyone responds that they can make your knife (to your specs) at your budget amount. If you get someone who says "yes, I can make that", you might need to search the forum, namely here -> https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/for-sale-fixed-blades.754/ or ask for pics for examples of his or her work.

You could try to get a maker to replicate the TOPS Pry knife to your desired specs or have a pry end built into the handle of the knife, like here https://www.knifecenter.com/item/KS...fe-stonewashed-sheepsfoot-blade-zytel-handles

I'm not sure if it is appropriate for me to recommend a specific knife maker.
 
+1 on a 3v recon tanto,but I'm not really a fan of tanto blades,that would be my choice though....
 
If I was after a tanto knife with his usage and configuration in mind, I'd talk to Charlie Mike.

I had a Recon Tanto back in the day. Was the tanto as useful out in the brush as, say, a drop point hunter or SRK? No, but I didn't care. Me and that Recon Tanto had plenty of fun. Your friend doesn't want rubber handles, but I had no problem with the Recon Tanto in the handle department, and I suspect he'd be just fine with them as well.

That old Recon Tanto is long gone now, and if I was going to put another knife in my camping box I wouldn't be another RT. But if I got to my campsite and found that the only knife I had in the rig was a Recon Tanto in 3V I'd be just fine with it.
 
Last edited:
Your buddy is going to waste his money. Don't be a part of that. Tanto's make lousy woods/camp blades.
 
knifeandgun said:
hello!
Alright so a buddy of mine asked me to help him find a fixed blade for his car ( beater for maintenance) and for camping.
Ya you read that right ha
I told him to get two blades but he pretty set on getting one.

he wants a Tanto fixed blade..with preferably non rubber handles. Around 4inchs
Annnnnnd with a sharp notch near the tang to cut rope ect..
Ya kinda specific
I told him the notch will likely not be found but I’m having trouble thinking of “camping” knife tantos..
His budget is about $200 so that’s good

I’m not really sure what to tell him so I’m open to suggestions haha

Thanks guys
Click to expand...
Fox-Knives-Grand-Trapper-Black-Gray-Micarta-Black-FX-134-BT-BHQ-52256-jr.jpg


Fox Grand Trapper - $125

N690Co Steel, recurve section near hilt for rope, tanto w/belly, removable micarta handles, full tang, decent sheath...

I really don't think he'll do any better than that without going full custom.
 
knifeandgun said:
Thanks guys! I’m tryif to convince him but he won’t budge.he really should have two separate blades for these tasks.

He will mainly be using the Tanto tip for leverage to open/pry parts on his off road fun car
Honestly I have no idea what exactly but he’s been using one for years and he just wants to replace it with a good one.
The thought of prying metal kills me but hey that’s what he wants.
Click to expand...
;) He needs a nice pry knife or just a pry bar . I have seen knives with a pry bar butt end .:rolleyes:
 
Thanks guys!! Seems a lot of you agree that the GI Tanto would be a solid choice
I’ll show it to him ASAP
Hopefully he will say yes and spend the rest on a solid dedicated camp blade:)
 
GI Tanto is a no frills tough as nails choice, many knife destruction test videos online about it. Definitely a great choice for what he is looking for and plenty left over for a really good "camp knife".
 
Maybe also show him the KA-BAR Becker BK5 Magnum Camp.

It's not a "tanto" per se, but it's got a big ol' trailing point on it that might get him where he wants to go. Way over his 4 inch thing, but hell with it... it's a BK5, Man!

Also the Benchmade Nimravus is in there as well, right in his size wheelhouse. No sharpened notch, but he could get the partially serrated version, with the serrations acting as his rope cutter.

If he goes the GI Tanto though, he could afford to get a Buck Selkirk along with it. I know he only wants one knife NOW, but we all know that knives are like potato chips.

Lotsa choices for him. I hope he enjoys looking at all of the selections out there.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top