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Tanto Sharpening Techniques
- Thread starter TAllen013
- Start date
some tantos are easier to sharpen than others, due to different shapes (ie a BM stryker vs a EKI CQC7) and grinds (ie a spyderco lum and a EKI CQC7 chisel grind) so in order to give ya good advice i would need to know what kinda knife ya are speaking of.
but, in general, ya would sharpen the flat belly 1st then go to the tip, or vice versa, ya cant do it all at in one stroke on a sharpmaker like ya would a spear point, though i suppose that would almost work on some like the stryker, but you do the belly and tip seperate, i also like to be carefull with the place where the 2 intersect to keep it nice and crisp.
with the right techniques you can get tantos as sharp as anything else ya care to name.
but, in general, ya would sharpen the flat belly 1st then go to the tip, or vice versa, ya cant do it all at in one stroke on a sharpmaker like ya would a spear point, though i suppose that would almost work on some like the stryker, but you do the belly and tip seperate, i also like to be carefull with the place where the 2 intersect to keep it nice and crisp.
with the right techniques you can get tantos as sharp as anything else ya care to name.
I sharpen my cold steel gi tanto using a piece of glass and sandpaper, going back and forth, not putting too much pressure, then repeat the same at the tip. its the same technique I use to sharpen my chisels (im a woodworker) then I strop to remove the burr.
I can get it shaving sharp.
I can get it shaving sharp.
i have had a lotta tantos, spydie lums, EKI SOCFK's and CQC7's, strykers, etc but have never had a tanto grip, i have seen them though, IIRC the are a "V" grind not a CG, you would just sharpen the belly 1st then do the tip and be particularly careful on the tip so ya keep the angle right which i have to really concentrate to do, really on a tanto the belly is easy its the tip ya have to be careful with. as far as the actual sharpening you would do it as ya would with any other "v" grind FWIW.
as far as info on a chisel grind tanto go to www.emersonknives.com they have a great tutorial on how to sharpen a CG.
the traditional japanese tanto is not a whole lot different from a spear point, the tip isnt as much upswept and the grinds dont differ as much on them vs a "americanised" tanto,
the spyderco lum tanto's have a tanto blade with what they call an appleseed grind which i dont think is much different than a "v" grind, but it is a little different, but ya sharpen them and the 'v' ground strykers (they also made CG strykers FWIW) about like ya would your grip.
then ya have the emerson custom tantos like my CQC6 which have what they call a zero bevel grind with a tanto blade, the zero bevel grind has only 2 angles vs a std CG's 3.
hope this helps ya out,
as far as info on a chisel grind tanto go to www.emersonknives.com they have a great tutorial on how to sharpen a CG.
the traditional japanese tanto is not a whole lot different from a spear point, the tip isnt as much upswept and the grinds dont differ as much on them vs a "americanised" tanto,
the spyderco lum tanto's have a tanto blade with what they call an appleseed grind which i dont think is much different than a "v" grind, but it is a little different, but ya sharpen them and the 'v' ground strykers (they also made CG strykers FWIW) about like ya would your grip.
then ya have the emerson custom tantos like my CQC6 which have what they call a zero bevel grind with a tanto blade, the zero bevel grind has only 2 angles vs a std CG's 3.
hope this helps ya out,
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I usually use flat Arkansas on my Emersons (chisel ground tanto, 154CM at RC57-59). As mentioned above, I treat each edge as a separate knife. I just pull the knife towards myself (edge facing away) along the stone trying hard not to vary the angle. It is slow going, but I can get a decent enough edge. With ultra-fine Arkansas (the black stones), 154CM polishes up really nice! :thumbup:
For all my other knives, I ceramic and/or diamond rods in a "V" formation.
For all my other knives, I ceramic and/or diamond rods in a "V" formation.
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2005
- Messages
- 2,826
Easier said than done. I use a Spyderco Sharpmaker and I have to use a reverse sweep to sharpen my tantos. In other words, don't start at the back of the blade and pull the knife back towards you, but start at the front and push the knife away from you until you get to the serrations. The angles stay the same, but the area between the two blades (forget what it's called) doesn't get rounded in the process.
If anyone knows a better way, let me know.
The CRKT Slidesharp is a pain. Not only are the rods not straight, mastering the back and forth is a pain.
I don't have any problems with tantos as knives. They're a bit harder to sharpen but they have a little more beef at the front.