Tanto style blade vs Standard point

I

Issac Sailer

Joined
May 26, 2002
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6
Specifically I'm trying to decide between the Benchmade 9050 Auto or the 9100. I want to know what are the pro's and cons to these type blades or if its just a matter of style and preference. Thanks
 
Personally I think that the tanto point is stronger that a standard drop point, or a spear point. I think mostly it is just prsonal preference though.
I do find it a little tougher to sharpen the end grind on a tanto blade, maybe that is just me though.

I used to really like tanto blades, but lately spear points and warncliffe style baldes have been the most appealing to me.
 
Spear, Clip, etc.: 1. Good for piercing 2. Good for detail work 3. One continuos edge 4. Knife has belly for better slicing

Tanto: 1. Stronger Tip (Sorry, In all honesty there is no other advantage to an Americanized Tanto)
-Kevin
 
ginshun said:
Personally I think that the tanto point is stronger that a standard drop point, or a spear point. I think mostly it is just prsonal preference though.
I do find it a little tougher to sharpen the end grind on a tanto blade, maybe that is just me though.

I used to really like tanto blades, but lately spear points and warncliffe style baldes have been the most appealing to me.
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Big Ditto on that. Leave the tanto style to swords. I have a Cold Steel San Mai III from the 1980's and a Benchmade 722 tanto. Looks cool, but not fun to sharpen. Rest of my knives are conventional blade style and more useful.
 
Although I am not a fan of tanto tips in general, I really like BM's drop-point tanto. It is vastly superior to those lousy Cold Steel tanto knives whose tips aren't lined up with your hand - the tip on Benchmade tantos is controllable and better for utility than you might think.

That being, I have to agree with Morgoth overall. Clip points in particular are my favorite for any purpose.
 
I own 2 tanto blades one folder and the short KA-BAR tanto. the straight blade tip is really usefull for fine cutting and detail work.
I agree with ginshun the blade tip is difficult to sharpen.
 
Chisel americanized tanto points are just that, strong. No other advantage (and of course less piercing power and a somewhat limited ability to do detail work). That said, you could use the tip as you would a kiridashi..... sort of. I'd just use a kiridashi on it's own.

That said, the so called "drop-point tanto" is better for piercing. I think hira-zukuri style blades are much better overall for tantos and semi-long knives (6" blade or more).

Oh, and tip location only changes how you thrust, not how well it thrusts.

Finally, the tanto point most people see is NOT on swords. It's far different. Asking or searching around on forums specifically for swords would probably be a good idea.
 
A real tanto point has no sharp angles. And a well made true tanto is stronger than an american tanto, but significantly harder to make correctly. Look at any decent katana to see a real tanto point. A japanese tanto blade provides the best of both worlds, but expensive and hard to find.
 
kaosu04 said:
A real tanto point has no sharp angles. And a well made true tanto is stronger than an american tanto, but significantly harder to make correctly. Look at any decent katana to see a real tanto point. A japanese tanto blade provides the best of both worlds, but expensive and hard to find.
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Okay while I agree with you about the "real" tanto point as in the hira-zukuri style not having any really sharp angles/geometry changes...
what do you mean katana have tanto points? That's just strange.

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/nihonto.htm
http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/glossary.htm
Good resource for beginners.
One more.
http://www.nihonto.com/

Some people make hira zukuri daito (like Bailey Bradshaw I believe). MartiaArtSwords also make such swords.

P.S. the Bugei Hissatsu is a osoraku zukuri tanto... definitely not incredible for utility, but a real mean thrusting style blade. Can slash well too.
 
The most common japanese tip you see on a katana doesnt not have angles, it is curved with a yokote. I typically associate the word tanto with a real tanto. Tip included. Katanas, wakizashis, and tantos all have tanto points, so I am not quite sure what you are referring to.
 
A tanto point is the tip of a tanto. Blade shape and tip shapes are different, there is no "tanto point" in standard terminology is what I'm saying.

And the yokote on a good shinogi-zukuri katana (and the very rare tanto) has sharp edges. It curves to the tip as well, but you can feel the yokote and the shinogi and all the other changes... no, it's not like the chisel tip... but it's hard to explain. Katana, wakizashi, and tanto all can have their own blade shapes but none is really exclusive from any others (except I believe the osoraku-zukuri)

BTW, I responded to your sageo question, hope the links help ;).
Alex.
 
I don't like the angular tanto point. Harder to sharpen, less useful in my opinion. Good for puncturing car doors :)
 
Morgoth412 said:
Tanto: 1. Stronger Tip
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The american tanto has no inherent strength advantage, Reeves drop points for example are stronger than many Tanto points simply due to the thickness Reeve leaves in the tip.

Tanto's achieved a reputation for strength simply because many tanto makers like Cold Steel and Strider leave a lot of mass in the tip, you could just as easily create a very slim and pointy tanto tip if you wanted.

In all honesty there is no other advantage to an Americanized Tanto
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The straight lines are easier to sharpen than curved lines, the secondary point has utility applications, the leading edge makes a small chisel/scraper.

-Cliff
 
kaosu04 said:
A real tanto point has no sharp angles. And a well made true tanto is stronger than an american tanto, but significantly harder to make correctly. Look at any decent katana to see a real tanto point. A japanese tanto blade provides the best of both worlds, but expensive and hard to find.
Click to expand...

If what you're talking about is the tanto that has a belly instead of a geometric secondary point, but still retains the secondary point grind, I don't think I agree about "best of both worlds". This grind still leaves the point very thick and strong, and of course you have the typical tradeoff, which is worse penetration. Very thick and strong is better if you'll be putting the point through hard armor or prying with it, worse for everything else, IMO. I have a folder that has the exact shape and grind you discuss, and based on the way I use my folders, the lack of point penetration irritates me.
 
Cliff Stamp said:
The american tanto has no inherent strength advantage, Reeves drop points for example are stronger than many Tanto points simply due to the thickness Reeve leaves in the tip.

Tanto's achieved a reputation for strength simply because many tanto makers like Cold Steel and Strider leave a lot of mass in the tip, you could just as easily create a very slim and pointy tanto tip if you wanted.
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Some of Hossom's tantos seem tuned for point penetration rather than strength.
 
There is nothing saying that you can't make the point as fine and tapered as you want. Now inherently keeping the point inline with the spine is inherently more robust than running it towards the edge like as with on a clip point, but again how much mass is left is more importantly for strength/penetration vs style. I have huge bulky clip point which are readily far behind tantos in penetration.

-Cliff
 
Well, I'm glad Joe and Cliff have already chimed in. I often feel alone while bucking the "conventional wisdom".

The profile of a "tanto" point, or nearly any other point, does not necessarily make it stronger than another. A thinly ground tanto will still be weaker than a slender clip point that was left with lots of thickness towards the point. Penetrating ability is limited by the widest dimension, but strength is limited by the thinnest dimension.
 
would be distinct from a chisel-like tanto point IMO... while yes, some chisels are very thin, a lot are very thick and strong for general work.

That's what I meant. Of course narrowing the tip would make it weaker.... but I still prefer more of a convex edge-flat transition, I mean, there must be a reason it was so favored historically in knives ;).

BTW, NO I am not saying flat ground or sabre ground or the Scandinavian grinds are bad. They work VERY well. Just saying I prefer convex to chisel.
 
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