I like a tanto for a work knife. They open packages as well as any knife. Cut nylon ties well. And are good at scrapping stickers off of glass. They even have enough of a point to dig a wood sliver out of your hand. I really think it is a much more utilitarian shape then it is given credit for.
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Tantos, why so much hate?
- Thread starter yepimonfire
- Start date
Tanto-bladed knives became popular with Cold Steel's offerings around the early 1980s or so (American tanto). They had nothing at all to do with Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, et al, movies. What started the "ninja craze" of the '80s in the U.S. was Chuck Norris/The Octagon (an American movie). Even then, there wasn't any craze for tanto-bladed knives through that; it was shuriken (throwing stars), cheap ninja swords, etc. The object that Bruce Lee popularized were the nunchaku (AKA "numchuks").
I used to dislike American tanto shapes, but have found they work very well for a lot of tasks. Like any other knife/blade shape, a lot depends on the particular design.
Jim
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When you're faced with the task of battling ninjas on a daily basis like I do, then you can appreciate the design of the tanto. Those are some stealthy and nimble suckers, but their armor is weak to the piercing power of my tanto blades. During my breaks, my tanto is perfectly capable of double-duty and cuts my lunch fine.
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I agree they'd make an awful hunting knife. I'm talking more utility.
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After losing my HK Plan D for the fifth and final time I decided to use a folding tanto I've had for a decade but never used.
This is my work knife and is used for cutting open fifty pound bags of clay, etc. in the paper coating biz. Also for roll prep,etc.
It worked ok...better than I thought but not nearly as well as the Plan D...I have two on the way lol and will have a better sheath than the one supplied which fails to after a lot of use...the little retention "nub" in the sheath wears down and fails to retain...
All in all the tanto shape isn't bad and does look really great on some knives I prefer the blade shape of the ZT770cf and Plan D.
This is my work knife and is used for cutting open fifty pound bags of clay, etc. in the paper coating biz. Also for roll prep,etc.
It worked ok...better than I thought but not nearly as well as the Plan D...I have two on the way lol and will have a better sheath than the one supplied which fails to after a lot of use...the little retention "nub" in the sheath wears down and fails to retain...
All in all the tanto shape isn't bad and does look really great on some knives I prefer the blade shape of the ZT770cf and Plan D.
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One of my favorite blade designs, only certain ones though. I go through phases where all I want are Tanto's, all I want are clip point, I only want serrated, I only want plain blade. Just depends on what's floatin me boat at the time. I have about half dozen of the Ares fixed tanto's and really like them a lot, I have also made quite a few tanto fixed blade knives.
Well I'll respond with two comments...
*I live out in the country and grew up on clip-points and drop-points...I'm most a clip-point fan and just always have been.I've noticed several people I know from the city carry tanto bladed knives I guess for their tactical appearance than as a self defense weapon.
*A friend got me a tanto bladed folder one year and I just didn't like it in function.Aside from using the angled edge to scrape dried polyurethane off my basement floor I might as well have just used a sheepsfoot or wharncliffe blade for the amount of straight edge.
*I live out in the country and grew up on clip-points and drop-points...I'm most a clip-point fan and just always have been.I've noticed several people I know from the city carry tanto bladed knives I guess for their tactical appearance than as a self defense weapon.
*A friend got me a tanto bladed folder one year and I just didn't like it in function.Aside from using the angled edge to scrape dried polyurethane off my basement floor I might as well have just used a sheepsfoot or wharncliffe blade for the amount of straight edge.
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The tanto blade on my CS Voyager is perfect for extracting broken sprinkler pipes off of sprinklers, I just stick the blade right in there and screw it out. Not bad of a blade shape for utility use.
honestly I prefer clip point and drop point/or spear point as my daily carry knife.
honestly I prefer clip point and drop point/or spear point as my daily carry knife.
The tip snapped off my Kershaw Leek so I just ground it into a mini tanto point. Still as useful as ever and the tip is now much stronger.
I'm not a fan of how a full 1" or larger tanto point is though, they're the shape that calls out to me the least next to clip points. Of course there are certain knives pull it off.
I'm not a fan of how a full 1" or larger tanto point is though, they're the shape that calls out to me the least next to clip points. Of course there are certain knives pull it off.
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Looks like a reverse tanto to me....
One overlooked aspect of Tanto points is that, on a long heavy chopping knife, the American Tanto shape in theory allows more mass closer to the tip, without losing as much initial point penetration. This is because the design allows a more acute point geometry, despite this point starting nearer to the tip (some Busse knives have quite blunt points for example, showing a near-vertical radiused edge even behind the point, and this illustrates the disadvantage of using a broad radius to keep more blade mass forward, instead of an abrupt angled transition). This "Tanto" angle, when done in a certain way, in theory allows much increased weight torwards the tip, while retaining some significant piercing ability.
The only blade design I can think of that fully utilizes this "Tanto" advantage is the Tops Hellion 20/20. The knife is very well made (straight in every way), but needs a heavily reprofiled edge, the Tanto point in particular probably requiring power tools for sharpening the forward edge (it did require this for me). Once this is done at the edge, the way Tops did the geometry of the point fully exploits the point's late-start advantage (the point tapers perfectly, seen from above, in the way it is factory ground): The result, when combined with a blade that widens towards the front, is a knife with incredible mass near the tip, yet fully capable of stabbing motions (in part because of the "dropped" sharpened false edge). In tip mass for its size, there is virtually no other knife that is even in the ballpark of it, and this gives this 9" knife a truly unique sword-like feeling for something so short...
It is too bad some of the balance advantage is wasted by Tops by using an untapered full tang, which brings the overall knife weight to a marginal 21 ounces (barely 3 ounces lighter than the famously heavy Buckmaster), this without any extra gain in forward weight. Maybe I am wrong, and this "waste" of weight is actually not waste, because it still feels better in the hand than any big knife I have ever handled (in particular, the awkward-looking handle is in reality superb), and you litterally have to hold one in your hand to understand how revolutionary its versatility is. For instance, you know instantly that what you can't cut you may very well break with the impact of the tip: Good luck achieving that with the thin sharp tip of even a Trailmaster... Yet it also punctures very well, and the tip's edge can even slice like a razor once heavily reprofiled.
Here my reprofiled Hellion, with the Chris Reeves Jereboam for reference:
Tip angles -top false edge untouched- (the main edge primary bevel was re-sprayed with masking tape and very tough lacquer paint to regain a neat appearance near the edge):
What I meant by outstanding tip geometry from the factory...:
I made mine one of the sharpest knives I have ever owned (slightly sharper than my Jereboam Mk II), so it is possible, but after all the work I am loathe to use it (it is now my favourite knife even over the Chris Reeve, if you can believe that)... Ideally, the flat saber primary grind should probably be higher, but then some of that blade mass would be lost... This knife apparently failed to find its market (it is discontinued), and I am sure that's because too few people handled it... When I bought it I was quite nonplussed myself (from the pictures), since I just needed quickly a short machete for a very dense wood I planned to visit... I had no clue I was buying my favourite knife ever...
Gaston
The only blade design I can think of that fully utilizes this "Tanto" advantage is the Tops Hellion 20/20. The knife is very well made (straight in every way), but needs a heavily reprofiled edge, the Tanto point in particular probably requiring power tools for sharpening the forward edge (it did require this for me). Once this is done at the edge, the way Tops did the geometry of the point fully exploits the point's late-start advantage (the point tapers perfectly, seen from above, in the way it is factory ground): The result, when combined with a blade that widens towards the front, is a knife with incredible mass near the tip, yet fully capable of stabbing motions (in part because of the "dropped" sharpened false edge). In tip mass for its size, there is virtually no other knife that is even in the ballpark of it, and this gives this 9" knife a truly unique sword-like feeling for something so short...
It is too bad some of the balance advantage is wasted by Tops by using an untapered full tang, which brings the overall knife weight to a marginal 21 ounces (barely 3 ounces lighter than the famously heavy Buckmaster), this without any extra gain in forward weight. Maybe I am wrong, and this "waste" of weight is actually not waste, because it still feels better in the hand than any big knife I have ever handled (in particular, the awkward-looking handle is in reality superb), and you litterally have to hold one in your hand to understand how revolutionary its versatility is. For instance, you know instantly that what you can't cut you may very well break with the impact of the tip: Good luck achieving that with the thin sharp tip of even a Trailmaster... Yet it also punctures very well, and the tip's edge can even slice like a razor once heavily reprofiled.
Here my reprofiled Hellion, with the Chris Reeves Jereboam for reference:
Tip angles -top false edge untouched- (the main edge primary bevel was re-sprayed with masking tape and very tough lacquer paint to regain a neat appearance near the edge):
What I meant by outstanding tip geometry from the factory...:
I made mine one of the sharpest knives I have ever owned (slightly sharper than my Jereboam Mk II), so it is possible, but after all the work I am loathe to use it (it is now my favourite knife even over the Chris Reeve, if you can believe that)... Ideally, the flat saber primary grind should probably be higher, but then some of that blade mass would be lost... This knife apparently failed to find its market (it is discontinued), and I am sure that's because too few people handled it... When I bought it I was quite nonplussed myself (from the pictures), since I just needed quickly a short machete for a very dense wood I planned to visit... I had no clue I was buying my favourite knife ever...
Gaston
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Additionally they are the simplest strait edged, upswept (not wharny or sheepy) pointed knife design to sharpen on the market today, this side of an arrow shape ... As long as you have a flat stone ... That's all I have.
In fact, the only tanto knife I have ever owned is the one I made.
I see them this way: they are 80% as useful as any other wharnclife type knife the same length as the strait section from blade to sub tip for wharny type tasks. With the addition of a chisel or gouge type tip it is 90% as usefull as say a large exacto knife. The sub tip adds an additional 40% more usefulness. This brings the tantos' usefulness up to 210% ... Obviously the absolutely best knife design in history! But in all seriousness, the knife straddles many other knife designs and tasks with a surprisingly low loss in utility. That fact that animals can be dressed is a testament to that (have not heard of people using a wharnclife for that) The only thing that I find the design truly bad a is "slicing" hard materials like wood.
I like woodworking with my knives to I don't use them but if I was handed one to use I wouldn't really care. And, as usual, thanks for reading.
In fact, the only tanto knife I have ever owned is the one I made.
I see them this way: they are 80% as useful as any other wharnclife type knife the same length as the strait section from blade to sub tip for wharny type tasks. With the addition of a chisel or gouge type tip it is 90% as usefull as say a large exacto knife. The sub tip adds an additional 40% more usefulness. This brings the tantos' usefulness up to 210% ... Obviously the absolutely best knife design in history! But in all seriousness, the knife straddles many other knife designs and tasks with a surprisingly low loss in utility. That fact that animals can be dressed is a testament to that (have not heard of people using a wharnclife for that) The only thing that I find the design truly bad a is "slicing" hard materials like wood.
I like woodworking with my knives to I don't use them but if I was handed one to use I wouldn't really care. And, as usual, thanks for reading.
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Mingecutter
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One of my first good knives was a tanto. I used it for everything and loved it! I would say they get a bad image though. I even have poor thoughts of them from the junk knives trying to reel in the ninjas and such.
This is my most recent tanto
KRG_2403-4 by Richstag, on Flickr
I have not used it yet. My EDC is a partially serrated M390 707. That was also a test in revisiting serrations...
This was a recent purchase of mine also. It's the only tanto I own....and I love it. Awesome blade. Fills the tanto niche in my EDC rotation. One is enough for me, though. LOL
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I used to be strongly anti-tanto, but as better knives are made using this blade shape, I have begun to accept them as a reasonable general purpose blade shape. I don't own any tanto blades at all.
poolhustler
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Not an EDC but I do love it.......
One of my first good knives was a tanto. I used it for everything and loved it! I would say they get a bad image though. I even have poor thoughts of them from the junk knives trying to reel in the ninjas and such.
This is my most recent tanto
I have not used it yet. My EDC is a partially serrated M390 707. That was also a test in revisiting serrations...
Which ZT is that?
Mingecutter
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