Tanto, uses?

[gull wing]

Never had one, but just wondering. Why have one? What are their positives?
I can see they will have a greater tip strength. I can't think of any other.
Why do you like your tanto?

 

[Peter La]

They have excelent penetration on hard targets.

 

[yoda4561]

they're a bit easier to use for scroll cuts on some things because you can use that "secondary" point to make tight turns for a painting mask, without having to have a box of razorblades on hand. I hear they make decent scrapers too

 

[m_calingo]

I agree the major advantage of the tanto is tip strength and increased ability to penetrate armor, be it chain mail or some forms of soft body armor.

The so called Americanized tanto has a distinctive secondary point just below the main tip of the blade that aids in slashing attacks using the blade. Cold steel has numerous tantos spun off this design, such as the Kobun which I currently own.

The downside is this design tends to scream combat knife, or fighting knife even when sitting still. It's obviously not a recommended accessory when wearing suits, or business attire.

Another thing that bothers me about them is that the reinforced point doesn't always lie along the central axis of the knife. In the grand scheme of things, this tends to be a small, nit picking thing, but when I have a knife in hand I like to intuitively know where the point is without having to look at it.

Some knife designers have gotten around this by slightly dropping the point of the knife so it again lies along the central axis of the blade, as in the Elishewitz designed Benchmade 910 Stryker.

I normally don't EDC tanto style knives these days because I find more traditional styles work better for regular EDC chores. Sure, if I was going into harms way, I'd probably carry a fixed blade tanto, but for everyday work, it's just not necessary (for me).

 

[yoda4561]

Who in the hell walks around wearing chain-mail these days?? About the only modern use for it I know of is sharkbite resistant armor for divers, and sharks seem to be more fans of serrated spearpoints than anything. About the only thing the americanized tanto is good for is utility work, sure it looks kinda badass but there isn't much about it that would make it particularly effective as a weapon.

 

[Ryan8]

I agree the major advantage of the tanto is tip strength and increased ability to penetrate armor, be it chain mail or some forms of soft body armor.

The Japanese tanto possibly; I doubt the American tanto would penetrate as well. The tip gets very thick very fast as you look down the blade if you follow me.

If you look at old European swords and daggers designed to penetrate armor, they tend to be pretty thin and triangular (or close to it). You get a heck of a lot of pressure per square inch on the tip.

Anyway this doesn't really matter for most people today.

I won't disagree with the tip strength. I haven't purposely tried to break a tanto blade, but they seem to take quite a bit without problems.

 

[jefff]

The downside is this design tends to scream combat knife, or fighting knife even when sitting still.

DOWNSIDE? lol that's why I bought mine.. looks pretty mean and I love it.

 

[severtecher]

The best thing I like about my tanto is it makes a great gasket scraper and can snap a ty-rap in a wire bundle with ease.

 

[Mitchell Knives]

Tantos may have a bit more tip strength, but you shouldn't be prying with your knife anyway.

My main problem with tantos is that that are more difficult to sharpen.

I own two tantos, and I'm not crazy about either.

 

[yuzuha]

I've got a BM 910 in M2 and a SOG x42 autoclip in BG 42. Never thought of them as combat knives, and have no use for such, but as utility knives. Rather like both of them... the BM for the look and steel and the SOG for ease of use. Of course, I'm not entirely happy with the Americanized tanto design so by the time I got done with them they had a sharply rounded belly where that "secondary point" used to be (much better at slicing acetate or paper than that sharp angle). Make great letter and package openers and work great for cutting out coupons, cutting cable ties, tough roots in the garden or plastic packing straps and for scraping things. Thought about blunting the primary point, but it does come in handy for cutting into those heavy boxes that are glued rather than taped, or for starting a cut a a precise point.

 

[dialex]

I like tantos. I mean, the traditional ones, with curved blades (I've seen the so called american tantos have a straight blade, which I'm not very fond of). Pretty useful for outdoors.

 

[OilMan]

My main problem with tantos is that that are more difficult to sharpen.

I always thought they were easier to sharpen once you got the hang of it. Just like sharpening two straight edges.

I don't know what it is but I just like American Tantos. My preference though is for an extreme angle on the tip because I use mine to strip wires and such so I need them real pointy/stabby.

Here's my current fav with extreme point. It's a big pic so watch out. This one has a fairly thin tip compared to most and definitely thinner than Duane's chisel ground Tantos.

later,

oil

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Who in the hell walks around wearing chain-mail these days??

Goths?

...and sharks seem to be more fans of serrated spearpoints than anything.

Yeah but they are not really high speed operators, everyone knows that the american tanto creates maximum wound channels. Too bad Darwin missed the boat on that one.

-Cliff

 

[z537z]

I always thought they were easier to sharpen once you got the hang of it. Just like sharpening two straight edges.

Bingo. My Cold Steel Voyager has treated me VERY well, and it's fairly easy to sharpen.
The two edges aren't perfectly straight, but being close they're a lot easier to get a good grind on than a big curved blade (e.g. clip point).


The tanto point is really nice for EDC kinds of jobs IMO. For one, the forward tip is great for scraping, prying (you probably will use the knife for this, even if you're not supposed to), screwdriver duty (ditto on the last comment).
Also, the long straight edge is much better for long slicing cuts, chopping (e.g. veggies), etc.
And it's strong as nails if you get the right design (Cold Steel's is really nice). Thick at the top but still razor sharp at the bottom (literally, in my knife's case).

And finally, if I ever do end up having to jam this knife into something, it's nice knowing it won't break in case it hits bone, sternum, etc.

_z

 

[GoodGuy]

I employ my tanto style fixed blades for a variety of farm chores including slicing, puncturing, prying, and splitting. It's one tool that is acceptable for a lot of jobs. I can't say it's the best tool, but it's easieir to carry ONE tool (the tanto knife) than multiple tools (a traditional knife, chisel, wrecking bar, wedge, etc.).

I will say it's, perhaps, not the best knife for a novice; but an experienced user can employ one quite effectively.

 

[harpers ferry]

I have a CS Kobun and a CS Voyager. Both knives were acquired to be used as "tacticals". I feel that the tanto blade has alot of penetration " potential". They are both "scary" sharp and they make very good kitchen knives as that is how I use them for the most part. Penetration "potential" is what a tanto is all about. YMMV

 

[rebeltf]

What Electric Zombie said. My two tanto's sit , I never use them or carry them.

 

[gull wing]

Thank you all for the reply. Most helpful.
I may buy one one day, but on the lower end of the price field, like a BM Grip.

 

[crossada]

imo the tanto does not have better penetration power than a conventional clip point due to the extra mass but they are the strongest of all points.

my busse public defender with japanese tanto point is a great utility knife.

the american tanto point like on the strider wb just looks cool to me so thats the big reason i buy and carry them.

please note it doesn't matter what knife i have on me that may or may not be the best utility knife because i always have a sak on me which is the best utility knife. nothing beats the buddy system

 

[cdf]

They make a great scraper , and sometimes a pretty good skew chisel .