Tantos: do you love/hate ‘em?

What do you think about tanto blades?

  • Total voters
    243
Londinium Armoury said:
+1 for ceramic rod systems on Tanto blades, just sharpen them like it's a regular blade, forget the angle is even there.
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I don’t know because I’ve never used rods for sharpening Tanto blades: Wouldn’t that cause the secondary point to round?

The tanto blades I’ve sharpened have been easy motions due to the edges not being very curved. Run the primary edges on a flat stone at then the same on the tip portion. Like two separate knives but easier to keep the edges consistent. Sharpening them this way helps not round that secondary point, at least in my mind.
 
jux t said:
I don’t know because I’ve never used rods for sharpening Tanto blades: Wouldn’t that cause the secondary point to round?

The tanto blades I’ve sharpened have been easy motions due to the edges not being very curved. Run the primary edges on a flat stone at then the same on the tip portion. Like two separate knives but easier to keep the edges consistent. Sharpening them this way helps not round that secondary point, at least in my mind.
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It rounds the gind lines on the side of the transition of bevels but doesn't actually round the apex of the secondary point as that is in line with the rest of the apex.
 
Londinium Armoury said:
It rounds the gind lines on the side of the transition of bevels but doesn't actually round the apex of the secondary point as that is in line with the rest of the apex.
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I thought it would kind of be like letting your tip drag off a stone and rounding it eventually.
 
jux t said:
I thought it would kind of be like letting your tip drag off a stone and rounding it eventually.
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Well you can round your tip letting it drag off the ceramic rods as well, you have to avoid doing a stroke too far the same as on stones. They round off because the actual tip contacts the stone going over the corner of it. If the tip is perfectly flat to the stone there's no way it can round off because the angle just isn't possible to do that. You have to accidently drag the tip over the corner of the stone where it contacts the side of the stone for a split second for it to roll same with the rods. Unless the tip actually touches the rod head on it wont round off. I sharpen on stones and hone on rods, it's not possible for a tip to roll unless you allow it to from contacting them at the wrong angle.
If your tip is rounding off on stones it's either coming off the side of the stone, or you are changing your angle and the tip is facing down towards the stone flat.
 
never had one, but the idea in principle for freehand sharpening is nice on some (when both edges are truly straight).

Like wharncliffe and sheepsfoot blades for the same reason.
 
Londinium Armoury said:
Well you can round your tip letting it drag off the ceramic rods as well, you have to avoid doing a stroke too far the same as on stones. They round off because the actual tip contacts the stone going over the corner of it. If the tip is perfectly flat to the stone there's no way it can round off because the angle just isn't possible to do that. You have to accidently drag the tip over the corner of the stone where it contacts the side of the stone for a split second for it to roll same with the rods. Unless the tip actually touches the rod head on it wont round off. I sharpen on stones and hone on rods, it's not possible for a tip to roll unless you allow it to from contacting them at the wrong angle.
If your tip is rounding off on stones it's either coming off the side of the stone, or you are changing your angle and the tip is facing down towards the stone flat.
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Yeah I know, but wouldn’t it be hard to not round that secondary point/transition on a rod? Not trying to be a smarty, just asking.
 
jux t said:
Yeah I know, but wouldn’t it be hard to not round that secondary point/transition on a rod? Not trying to be a smarty, just asking.
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I didn't take what you said badly, you wasn't rude at all, you do have to take care to keep it straight, if you change the angle at all it will scuff the point it can also feel like you are hitting the point when the bevel grinds meet at the side, you feel a little bump as it goes over the triangular transition line. It will be fine though on the actual apex, but the sides will scratch up and convex the crisp lines.
 
jux t said:
I don’t know because I’ve never used rods for sharpening Tanto blades: Wouldn’t that cause the secondary point to round?

The tanto blades I’ve sharpened have been easy motions due to the edges not being very curved. Run the primary edges on a flat stone at then the same on the tip portion. Like two separate knives but easier to keep the edges consistent. Sharpening them this way helps not round that secondary point, at least in my mind.
Click to expand...
What I do is stop pulling the blade as soon as the rod reaches the secondary point. Then I freehand the forward edge
 
sailfish said:
What I do is stop pulling the blade as soon as the rod reaches the secondary point. Then I freehand the forward edge
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In a nutshell, I think that's the right way to do it. Not trying to be a smart guy about this, but I really think some folks stay away from tanto blades because they don't know how to sharpen them. It's actually pretty easy, and once you get your system down it doesn't take very long at all.

I personally sharpen the main edge on a 1200 grit oval rod, the same way I sharpen all my other knives. I can touch up the second Edge at the tip easily if I am very careful with the same rod. If the point edge requires more work then I pull out a whetstone and freehand it. After I set the bevels on any knife I own to the proper degree that satisfies me, I never use a guided system anyway. I grew up freehanding, and have spent a lot of time learning how to do it properly. Once mastered, you can sharpen just about anything if you think it through before you start.

I used the second edge at the tip out on the job site as a chisel when it is sharp and more of a scraper, when it isn't. Sometimes (*ouch*) as a mini prying tool. Because that edge is so small on any of my three tantos, even if I goof up the point edge pretty badly I can quickly repair it. Love my tantos as job site knives for their tremendous utility value.

Robert
 
midnight flyer said:
In a nutshell, I think that's the right way to do it. Not trying to be a smart guy about this, but I really think some folks stay away from tanto blades because they don't know how to sharpen them. It's actually pretty easy, and once you get your system down it doesn't take very long at all.

I personally sharpen the main edge on a 1200 grit oval rod, the same way I sharpen all my other knives. I can touch up the second Edge at the tip easily if I am very careful with the same rod. If the point edge requires more work then I pull out a whetstone and freehand it. After I set the bevels on any knife I own to the proper degree that satisfies me, I never use a guided system anyway. I grew up freehanding, and have spent a lot of time learning how to do it properly. Once mastered, you can sharpen just about anything if you think it through before you start.

I used the second edge at the tip out on the job site as a chisel when it is sharp and more of a scraper, when it isn't. Sometimes (*ouch*) as a mini prying tool. Because that edge is so small on any of my three tantos, even if I goof up the point edge pretty badly I can quickly repair it. Love my tantos as job site knives for their tremendous utility value.

Robert
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I was kinda nervous in the time leading up to my first sharpening but once I did it, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I might even say really not bad at all. Probably easier than a drop point if I'm being honest. My two edges don't wear evenly either because they often get used for different things. So each one takes a different amount of work. I notice a lot of people don't seem to like tantos because they're not that great for slicing food or skinning but outside of a kitchen knife I really don't use my knives for any of that kind of thing unless I'm in a real pinch, then the tanto still gets the job done. My knives get used mostly for work and utility and as an electrician and HVAC tech, I find the tanto excels at those tasks.
 
Hate them, but love Wharncliffe and Sheepsfoot.

I do have to admit, even though I can't stand Tantos and was appalled when they first teased the Tanto PM2, it has actually grown on me a little bit......

Probably not enough to ever buy one as there are hundreds of other knives on my list before it, but I bet it's a tough user.
 
jux t said:
I don’t know because I’ve never used rods for sharpening Tanto blades: Wouldn’t that cause the secondary point to round?

The tanto blades I’ve sharpened have been easy motions due to the edges not being very curved. Run the primary edges on a flat stone at then the same on the tip portion. Like two separate knives but easier to keep the edges consistent. Sharpening them this way helps not round that secondary point, at least in my mind.
Click to expand...
Like with a regular knife, I stop the stroke just before reaching the secondary point. Once I’m happy with the main edge, I move on to the forward edge if needed, but I rarely dull or damage that part.
 
...this poll is incomplete without a "BOTH" option so I cannot vote...

...also, where I used to post at "D" was always hookers...

...I never picked "D"...just sayin'...
 
sailfish said:
I was kinda nervous in the time leading up to my first sharpening but once I did it, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I might even say really not bad at all. Probably easier than a drop point if I'm being honest. My two edges don't wear evenly either because they often get used for different things. So each one takes a different amount of work. I notice a lot of people don't seem to like tantos because they're not that great for slicing food or skinning but outside of a kitchen knife I really don't use my knives for any of that kind of thing unless I'm in a real pinch, then the tanto still gets the job done. My knives get used mostly for work and utility and as an electrician and HVAC tech, I find the tanto excels at those tasks.
Click to expand...

...it is like a straight razor with a point, eh...
 
every blade profile has it's place in my opinion

I find sheeps foot blades, wharncliffes, clip points, drop points and spear points have more utility in my day to day life, but a tanto definitely would be useful if I was a plumber or electrician or something
 
jux t said:
I don’t know because I’ve never used rods for sharpening Tanto blades: Wouldn’t that cause the secondary point to round?
Click to expand...

This intrigues me because I've never thought it through...

Usually I am only sharpening the main edge because that's what gets used like 98% of the time.

But I have used the Sharpmaker on the Recon Tanto a couple of different ways.

Slide it down the stone, rolling onto the secondary edge at the bottom of the stroke. This is really easy after a couple of strokes, but I realized it wasn't necessary to give the same amount of attention to the secondary edge as it was to the main edge. It didn't seem to round the transition between the two points though. If I continued doing it this way for the life of the knife though, who knows? Maybe it would.

Nowadays after sharpening the main edge by itself, I'll give the secondary edge its own treatment on the stones. It never amounts to much, if any.
 
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