Tanto point - pretty but useless?

Vulthoom

Vulthoom

Joined
Jul 21, 2001
Messages
5
Here's one stir up some debate.

Is it only me that finds the tanto tip on the CRKT KISS and Stiff Kiss useless in the real world?

It may be a strong design and great on a combat weapon but as a utility knife I still can't get used to it after six months.

Don't get me wrong, I love both knives and don't leave the house without my KISS but I think that I may trade it in for the modified drop point version.

Lets get those opinions flying :)

Vulthoom
 
well imho it aint the tanto blade as much as the chisel edge - i have a spyderco LUM tanto w/a regular edge and its 10X more of a utility knife than my emerson CQC7 tanto w/a chisel edge - and i do believe the CRKT's you mentioned have a chisel edge - i also have a CRKT M16-00 w/a regular edge tanto blade and its fine for utility as well.....


sifu
 
Hey Guys...

One of the reasons you may find chisel grinds kind of useless,, is that if you are Right handed they are All ground on the wrong side...

For us Lefties they are ground perfectly....

ttyle

Eric...
 
Couldn't agree more! I have been turned off by so many nice knives because of that tanto shape. I can't really see the benefits in the real world and they are harder to sharpen to boot. Manufacturers love to show their products with this blade configuration but I don't know anyone in my circle of friends who likes them. With that said, having a part of the blade serrated is in my experience a nice feature. Ed
 
I found in work a couple of years ago that the 'Americanised' Tanto tip worked a treat for opening plastic wraps holding soft drink bottles together. The style of blade worked like a Stanley knife and was very good. The Tanto in its traditional form with a good grind is a very good shape. This 'new' style blade leaves a lot to be desired and while I once had a soft spot for its toughness and 'style' I now avoid the Tanto style where possible. Simple fact is, I would not even consider an 'Americanised' Tanto in a new knife unless it was being given away. Even then it is doubtful I would carry it. Its all about trends and what stupid people think is cool, I aught to know I am one of them, thank God I found out how useless this shape is for most jobs! The only Tanto blades I own are a M16-14, Kiss folder, S & W SWAT, C/S Magnum copy and a Ka Bar 8" Tanto. The Ka Bar is actually rather good for camping where digging and tough prying fail to harm this knife. Not normally an issue for me, but when you camp with idiots it does make you feel glad you brought that and not a custom knife:rolleyes: .
 
A (Americanized) tanto isn't the most versatile blade shape around, but it does have its uses. If you look at an Xacto or other carving knife set, you'll see blade shapes you recognize, a hawkbill, a sharpened chisel, a blade with a lot of belly, a blade that looks like the top edge of a tanto, etc. Each blade is for a different use, and while some are more versatile than others, each has its specific use. I find tantos good for scraping and decent for tip work. They will also work for me for maybe 65% of basic utility stuff, like cardboard, food, plastic, leather, etc. I wouldn't carry a tanto as my only knife, but in addition to something like a 710, a tanto in the other pocket doesn't do half bad (for me). One of the great things about there being so many different blade styles for us to choose from is that you can avoid what doesn't work for you, and still find tons of knives that do work for you.
 
I'm not really a tanto fan in any of its forms, either Americanized, chisel-ground, or traditional, when it comes to using knives. As someone who tends to use the point a lot, tantos aren't always a great choice. On the Americanized tanto, aside from the lack of a belly, I also dislike the thickly-ground point. Some more traditional-ground tanto shapes have a belly, but they still have that thickly-ground tip. Even worse, the point is always directly in-line with the spine on traditional tantos. When doing tip-work, it's always advantageous to have the point dropped for control -- either as a drop-point or clip-point.

Between thick tip grinds, lack of a belly, chisel-grinds, and spine-height points, I can't find a tanto I really like for general utility use in any incarnation. The closest I have to a tanto that I actually carry is a folder that I had Allen Elishewitz grind special for me. It's a classic drop-point blade, with swedges, but also has the two-step grind of a tanto, where the belly grind stops before the tip and a second grind is applied to the tip. It's a cool style fusion, but if I had it to do over again, I'd go without the two-step grind for a thinner tip.

Joe
 
I like the Tanto style blade for most of the utility cutting that I do, opening boxes etc. If I look at my collection of EDC knives, the one that I use most often is an Emerson SOFCK with the classic American Tanto shape and ground on the "wrong" side for right handed use. I have actually found this to be an advantage when cutting - similar to having a large Stanley or X-Acto knife blade.

Just my thoughts.

Regards,

Ed
 
I share the exact same opinions about my "Stiff Kiss"! I've had mine for about a year and a half or so now and have never found a decent use for it, except for once i found that it was damn near perfect for scraping gaskets while working at an odd angle on my wifes car. I really don't think I'll ever buy another tanto with a chisel ground edge. although I am considering trying one more tanto style blade, BM Stryker, MT Halo, MOD Razorback, etc. As far as the CRKT goes, I'm probably just gonna give it to a friend and hope he finds it more useful than I have. (been really trying to thin the collection a bit!)
 
I have owned some tantos. The CRKT M16-04 and the BM Stryker was two I really liked. The only thing is they are too hard to sharpen. (for me..lazy..)
 
Originally posted by Normark
Hey Guys...

One of the reasons you may find chisel grinds kind of useless,, is that if you are Right handed they are All ground on the wrong side...

For us Lefties they are ground perfectly....

Eric...
Click to expand...

... I think the CRKT stiff KISS has the chisel grind on the "correct" side for right hand users. Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Having owned a Buck Strider with Tanto tip I do not like the American tanto tip. It was OK for certain types of cutting, but overall was not that good IMO.

I like the traditional tanto tip much better and the tip on this Pirella, Elishewitz design looks like it could do most cutting jobs quite nicely.
 
I actually find the double-beveled tantos like the BM910 Stryker to be quite useful for general cutting tasks. I agree that the chisel-ground types are of limited utility--but very good for self defense.
 
Originally posted by Vulthoom
Is it only me that finds the tanto tip ... useless in the real world?

It may be a strong design and great on a combat weapon but as a utility knife I still can't get used to it after six months.
Vulthoom
Click to expand...

I'm with you, brother Vulthoom.

My first tanto was a Benchmade 975 CQC7. Had to see what the fuss was about. That was early in my modern production folder "career", right after my AFCK 812 purchase. I had it for about a month, couldn't figure out how people tolerated the tanto grind for daily/utility use. Sold it.

I will say there are two tanto's I own and like well enough to keep:
1. Spyderco Lum
2. Greg Lightfoot Millenium Magnum Tanto (because it's not really a tanto).

Why do those stay in the collection.... neither are extreme grinds/designs to my eye, and both have a rounded transition from main to tanto edge, and both are symmetrically ground (hollow on both sides).

Anything chisel or even final-edge ground on the left/logo side is on the wrong freakin' side for righties. Period. But, let me quote from Ernie Emerson on why he, in particular, leaves these chisel ground on the wrong side for 95% of the population, when he could offer this as an option if he so chose:

from EKI's home page
"...we are often asked; Why do you put the grind on the opposite side of a traditional Japanese Chef's knife? The answer is simple....We are not making chef's knives. Our knives are hard knives meant for hard users [sic]. We do not cut many tomatoes. Our tests and those of a major government agency determined that there was no difference between right and left side grinds for use as a tool or weapon. The left side was chosen for purposes of visual cue and reference."
Click to expand...

There you have it. Read that carefully. There is a lot revealed and implied by the answer, the semantics, and the tone.

EKI completely ignores the fact that right-handers find the grind on left side awkward for many tasks ("tool" type tasks). And he left the chisel grind on left side for aesthetics... "visual cue"... that means for photographing and marketing purposes, the grind is on the same side as the logo and is easy to "see" when you open and handle the knife as a right hander.

I had a good fit/finish BM Stryker for a while. Good handle design, but I took the Lansky to that sharp transition from flat primary edge to the tanto edge and rounded it off, and that kept me satisfied...for a few months, then sold it. It lasted that long because it too was symmetrically ground.

The tanto is good for stabbing things... it is one way, not the only way, to grind a knife to possess a stout tip. That is about the end of the tanto's benefits best I can figure. Most of the other "attributes" are detriments for daily utility usage.

Looks more like a way to salvage a sword with a broken tip.
 
I like the tanto when I'm doing something that requires s-t-u-r-d-y blade construction, and it does have great stabbing potential, but if you want utility, look elsewhere. A drop point can be durable and infinitely more useful.
 
Well guys, I have to agree with Edmoses on this one. I have been carrying my medium Cold Steel tanto voyager plain-edge at work for the last few months and I cannot believe how usefull this little knife is! I used to believe like most of you do and I bought this knife just so I could say "yes I have a tanto in my knife collection". I broke the tip off of my Delica (which had been my EDC for the last two years) and decided "what the heck, I'll take the voyager to work and try it out, its supposed to be a strong tip, so I don't have to worry about that, and if something does happen to it, oh well, I don't really like it that much anyway." But the point (corner, whatever) where the front edge meets the bottom edge just keeps on cutting right thru tape, fed-ex packages, you name it. I work in an auto parts store and we have a lot of stuff in what is known as "blister packs", I know you have seen stuff like this at most stores. Cardboard back, clear plastic vacuum-sealed around the part to keep it on the back but it lets the customer see what they are buying. We have gas caps, chrome breather caps, chrome lug nuts, all kinds of stuff packaged like this. Customers want us to open up the packages after they buy it 'cause they usually don't have a knife on them. I was allways real leary about doing this with my Delica because the tip was so fine. (you have to shove straight in to pierce the plastic so you can get the knife in position to cut-I was allways afraid of pushing too hard and watching my Delica's tip slam right onto a chrome piece of metal, I did it anyway, cause, hey, I'm a knife-knut and if I don't take every opportunity to cut something, why bother carrying, right?) But my Voyager? No problem! I absolutely love this little knife now!! I kinda think of it almost like a wharncliff with an extra edge on the front of it! :D

Just my $.02 worth
Flinx
 
I have not found a chisel-ground tanto that I like.

I do like to following double-ground tantos:

Benchmade 905 Mini Stryker
Spyderco Lum Tanto

The Mini Stryker is great for a lot of scraping tasks since the straight & separate bottom and front grinds basically act like two Stanley scrapers. I use this for chores and maintainence type work. Not too good for cutting food, so it doesn't make it on camping trips. It makes a good EDC, is comfortable in the pocket due to the scale shape, and I like the thumb disk as much as the Spyder Hole.

The Lum tanto is just a beautiful knife for ceremonial occasions. Very good for cutting sashimi. As good any kitchen knife.

I have a Dozier "Reverse" Tanto on order, although it looks basically the same as the Benchmade 100 R&R "Modified Wharncliffe" to me in terms of shape.
 
The tanto's secondary point seems to be a binary proposition: either it helps out tremendously, or it gets in the way. I was cutting something yesterday -- and I can't for the life of me remember what it was -- where the secondary point was just the ticket. It was a matter of sheer luck that I had the tanto on me, I am evaluating it for the manufacturer. But it definitely worked out great. But there's more times that I get irritated that I have that secondary point there instead of a nice smooth belly. I can see if you end up doing a bunch of things that benefit from a secondary point (e.g., cutting open tape on boxes), and the other things you're doing are neutral as far as requiring a belly or not (e.g., cutting twine), the geometric tanto might be just the ticket. Many of the Americanized tantos now have a straight clip on top, so the point is lower and more suitable for point work.

Joe
 
A couple of years ago our dear, departed friend James Mattis, always on the lookout for "relentlessly peaceful" uses for scary looking knives, once suggested that the typical Americanized tanto blade is well suited for use as a steak knife. The advantage offered by the tanto over a conventional blade is that only a tiny portion of the edge--the secondary point--is dulled against the plate. I have not tried this myself.

I sure do miss James Mattis :( .

David Rock
 
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