Uses for a Japanese Tanto?

Rennd

Rennd

Joined
Jan 22, 2014
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I recently bought a Japanese Tanto made from 1050, one of the Longquan made blades that seem to be quite a good value. Would this type of blade have any capacity for outdoor tasks? Such as wood processing or whittling? Here is an attached picture. The blade is 12" long.
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:eek: That thing's so pretty I wouldn't want to use it outdoors at all!

Really though, I'm not sure what you'd use it for other than combat... It's too long to whittle with effectively, and the profile and weight distribution aren't really suited to chopping. Maybe you could use it as a small machete? I generally prefer something with another 5" or so of length for a machete, but you could manage with that if you really want it to.
 
You can do any reasonable knife task you wanted to with it, though it would not be anywhere near optimum for most of them.

Realistically, is going to be a better quality knife than most people have had access to throughout human history.

I mean, the European bronze age lasted around 3,000 years for instance...
 
Anybody know if a tanto can be crafted in a manner that would allow it to function like the BK9 or similar blades? Maybe give it a homogenous heat treatment for even tempering throughout the blade?
 
#1 use: Decoration piece. I think if you were to use it in bushcraft, the handles might fall apart.
 
they seem to be pretty good for stabbing through old car hoods. Other than that, or maybe puncturing lacquered Japanese armor, I don't see any use for a tanto blade.
 
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