Tantos

saturnine138

saturnine138

Joined
Dec 15, 2005
Messages
241
I'm thinking of getting a tanto, mostly because I like how they look and I dont have one yet. But I dont know much about their performance, or any strengths and weaknesses. Are they as good as conventional blades? Is there anything they're not good for? Anything they do better than most blades? I tried a search but couldnt come up with anything. Thanks guys.
 
Tantos--or rather, American tantos (which is probably 90% of them out there, as opposed to a traditional Japanese tanto--are intended mostly to be fighting knives.

That's a good thing, in my opinion, because they don't do much else well.

The tip is designed to puncture deeply, but this requires a thicker spine due to the unique tip shape. A thicker spine results in a more tapered blade. So this means that a tanto may be somewhat dull, or tricky to resharpen. Some inexpensive tantos use hollow grinds to produce a razor-sharp edge that changes the geometry of the blade. Other inexpensive ones will have a sharp edge that doesn't last.

The belly of the blade often has a pronounced curve that makes routine cutting difficult--and the tanto is useless for prying, precision slicing, and careful cutting... frankly, for me, that's about 99% of a knife's jobs.

Don't get me wrong--as a fighting knife, even a cheap tanto can be very effective. Great penetration, and the belly helps open up wounds very well. But as a utility knife, that tanto will likely disappoint.

All the above are my opinions, and I won't take offense to any or all contradiction.
 
Have you ever handled the Chris Reeve Tanto1? It's not listed on their list of one piece knives but it is listed in their price list. I have heard of some guys using it as their main outdoors knife and they loved how it performed.

Tanto1.jpg


This one is sharpened on both side and not a chisel grind. I have never used mine and it's still NIB but it does feel pretty good in the hand.

Ciao
Ron
:eek:
 
Personally I think that unless you are using the knife for skinning, a tanto point works just about as good as any shape. They also tend to have a very strong tip. I think they can be tricky to resharpen do to the direct angle between the main edge and the edge at the tip, but its not too big a deal.

I don't personally like them all that much, but I don't think they are neccessarily less usefull that most other blade shapes.
 
@Ron

No, haven't-- but that's more of a traditional Japanese design, rather than the faceted American tanto design. So it doesn't surprise me that it's light and easy to keep sharp.

Conversely, I wouldn't want to punch that through plate steel: the tip doesn't look like it would appreciate that.

But take that with a big grain of coarse salt, because although I own an American tanto, I've never punched it through plate steel, a 2x4, an oil can, or any of the other things you're apparently supposed to be punching through either. :)
 
I think has it as has been said a kind of depends on the type of Tanto you have we seem to be in agreement thatthe Japanese-style non-chisel ground is the most useful I think in any case, they take a little bit of getting used to there are tricks and techniques involved with using a Tanto such as using me lower point to start cuts I had a ti Bob Lum spyderco model that I will be using as an everyday carry so I'll report back with more info. Also although they seem to be very very hard to find a reverse right-handed chisel grind with seem to be pretty useful, especially for well chisel work shipping what for camping some types of slicing while more than a regular chisel ground.that said, I'm currently trying to acquire a left-handed chisel ground custom Ellsworth partially because it seems like a good deal on a very pretty knife and partially because I like the shape and determined to solve its mysteries.

and I firmly believe that there are subtleties is and tricks to the use of this design.
 
I like em. Yeah, they tend to have reinforced tips (it should be noted that you can do this with just about any blade style, it's just associated with tanto), which is cool, but there are some other little benefits.
When piercing, straight in, only that first edge (provided it's not a curvy tanto, like that CRK..think more CQC7) actually cuts. The main edge doesn't cut at all, preserving its sharpness.

I guess my main use of the tanto, out of the ordinary knife stuff, is using that shared point as an exacto knife.

They look pretty cool too. If you like how they look and don't have a specific reason NOT to use a tanto, get one and have fun. To me, they're like a wharncliffe plus an extra little edge at the tip.
 
I have always thought that a tanto is the ideal blade for prying. -Am I wrong? Well, I don't own any tantos myself, but have had some in the past. I liked them. I was under the imperssion that they lacked a "belly" and therefore wheren't ideal for long slices. However, I found that the secondary tip, where the edges meet, was good for most minor cutting tasks. Never had to sharpen one though.
 
I only have one Tanto
rhankinstanto2.jpg

It does not have the extreme angled tip like some. It still is a very functional shape.
 
I was thinking of getting this folding tanto kit http://www.knifekits.com/store/s-pages/kk_store_1mainframe.htm?kk_products_folderkits_main.htm~smain

And then maybe their sensei kit if this one turns out okay.

I really like the way that folder looks, and think I'd make a cool addition to my small collection, especially since I've had made it myself. I cant tell from the picture how it's ground, does anyone happen to know? It's piercing ability is probably greatly reduced due to it being a folder, right? Thanks guys.
 
I am curious as to how well tantos perform in terms of prying. Tactical knife companies seem to advertise these blades as good for puncturing and prying. Truthfully, does any one know if this blade geometry better allows for prying?

Personally I have found well sharpened long tantos good slicers, not exceptional but good (then again most knives are good slicers when they're sharpened) because they have a long edge for most of the slicing and a smaller edge for precision cutting. However, this does require some dexterity because on long tantos because the tip is obviously farther away and without a certain amount of dexterity the precision of the smaller edge and tip cannot be used.

It would be interesting to know if tantos are actually good for prying. This would make them good for puncturing and prying along with being an ok slicer. I would probably purchase a few more quality tantos (I only have two tantos at the moment) if this were the case because these attributes would appeal to me and they would see more use for certain tasks in the field.
 
destroythealter said:
I am curious as to how well tantos perform in terms of prying. Tactical knife companies seem to advertise these blades as good for puncturing and prying. Truthfully, does any one know if this blade geometry better allows for prying?

Personally I have found well sharpened long tantos good slicers, not exceptional but good (then again most knives are good slicers when they're sharpened) because they have a long edge for most of the slicing and a smaller edge for precision cutting. However, this does require some dexterity because on long tantos because the tip is obviously farther away and without a certain amount of dexterity the precision of the smaller edge and tip cannot be used.

It would be interesting to know if tantos are actually good for prying. This would make them good for puncturing and prying along with being an ok slicer. I would probably purchase a few more quality tantos (I only have two tantos at the moment) if this were the case because these attributes would appeal to me and they would see more use for certain tasks in the field.
Click to expand...



IMG]http://[/IMG]

Not my pic but a damn good one.

That answer one of your questions?

As for prying i gotta search for some more pics.

?If you doubt the power of the tanto go out an buy a strider BT right now. Then tell me that a tanto cant be used for prying:barf:
 
I like the tanto{american} and have carried several over the years. as mentioned above it pretty well sucks for skinning but this probably isn't much concern for the average user. as far as every day use it'll do anything you want to do pretty well. It will get some odd looks but on the positive side you probably aren't going to break tip{unless you're just trying to}. get one and try it, if you don't like it trade it off. later,ahgar
 
I only like traditional tantos. But they're meant for thrusting, not slashing due to the position of the point. You don't need the faceted tip like in an american tanto if the tanto is ground right, with the "snakehead" kissaki.
 
ginshun said:
Personally I think that unless you are using the knife for skinning, a tanto point works just about as good as any shape. They also tend to have a very strong tip.
Click to expand...

Agreed.


Personally I like tantos, and they are quite easy to sharpen, just like two separated wharncliff blades. I leave the top edge a little blunter to retain durability, so this way it's like having two blades in one. I especially like the point where the two edges meet, this spot is especially useful for shallow cutting.
 
Oh yeah, traditional tantos are the best of both worlds! Unfortunately they don't make too many folders with that bladeshape.
 
Well I carry a Struder DB, which is a small FB tanto mostly for prying. Couple weeks back we were doing some bail out training in a vacant house.

While others were repelling out the windows I put my new DB through its paces. I pried off window moldings,stabbed a stove a few times and forced open an interior door . I think they pry just fine .......... this one is made for that use but over all tanto hold up to prying better then most other types.
 
TANTOS ARE QUITE USEFUL. THE SECONDARY POINT IS MUCH EASIER TO USE TO PIERCE (SAY A TOMATO) WITH. I THINK IF YOU PUT A "TOOTHY EDGE BETWEEN THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY POINT AND POLISHED EDGE BEHIND THE SECONDARY POINT YOU HAVE A MUCH MORE USEFUL BLADE (I USE THAT TOOTHY EDGE TO CUT DOWN BLACKBERRYS ETC. IN THE WAY WITHOUT WORRING ABOUT GETTING TOUCHE'D IN THE HAND BY THE THORNS). A POLISHED MAIN IS GREAT FOR CHOPPING THINGS AND THAT CS BELLY IS GREAT FOR ROCKERING ONIONS ETC.

(i am not shouting, caps are done for effect)
 
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