What the Tanto?

Corytr · Jun 24, 2015

I have been thinking about this some lately, so I figured I'd throw it out there. I don't recall many threads on the CRK Tanto. I also have never owned one and I guess I just don't get it. For those of you who own, carry, and use a Tanto blade, I ask why? What does the Tanto blade excel at? What doesn't it excel at? How difficult is it to sharpen and maintain the secondary point. And finally, what makes the CRK Tanto unique?

I'll throw in a pic.

Haze · Jun 25, 2015

The CRK tanto is just a particular type of point, the Japanese name eludes me just now, it's often refered to as a "Lum style" tanto point. I actually like that point while not being a big fan of tanto blades generally. The tanto point is just beefier and stronger allowing for more aggressive piercing in a large range of materials than a a standard point perhaps would. The CRK tanto is a standard hollow ground blade but with a convex edge forming the tip. The body of the blade can be sharpened as any knife would but the tip is better sharpened as a convexed edge to keep all geometries etc. in line.

kidcongo · Jun 25, 2015

I own a small 21 Tanto that I like. It is my last choice for EDC, and would be the first I would sell if I had to sell one. I haven't found any task in my life where it is better suited other than scraping paint out of the corner of window panes. However it looks super cool, and works well enough for EDC.

As your only CRK, I'd say pass. As an addition to a collection, or something to alleviate knife boredom, I'd go for it. It has its own charm, and is fun to use even if it's not ideal for what you are doing.

stevelenti · Jun 25, 2015

I don't own a CRK tanto but I do own a couple others. For me it's completely about the look. I love the umnumzaan tanto. Something about it just screams badass to me.

I have also sharpened tanto blade and they aren't that difficult if you treat the parts separately.

-Steve

Officer's Match · Jun 25, 2015

Tip strength is the main positive (functionally). I also find the "second point" between the two edges to be useful for push-pull cutting. I don't own a CRK tanto but have several others that do see use.

unit · Jun 25, 2015

I carry one most days and like many blades I cannot say that is really does anything *better* than the others, but the way it does things is something I like.

Piercing? I am not sure because I do not do much piercing. I know it should hold up to off line piercing better, but it will also require more force to pierce with this blade than the standard CRK Sebenza blade shape.

What I do mostly is precision cuts around the office (cutting out shapes of paper, or cutting open packages). I can use the transition point on the blade to make precision cuts in either direction (something you cannot do with the Insingo, and while you can use the belly of the drop point Sebenza, you loose some precision due to the curved belly over the sharp transition of the Tanto).

Really, I would say it is not as much a case of "better" for anything...its more a case of, "I enjoy this blade shape right now, so I use it and find that I can accomplish what I want while using something I enjoy".

Think of it like fishing for your dinner....you may enjoy line finshing, or fly fishing...perhaps you enjoy spear fishing. Net fishing is a lot more efficient....but going to the store and buying a fish is arguably the easiest....but lots of guys seem to cling to this silly idea of doing it the way they enjoy regardless of guaranteed results in other avenues

magicblade · Jun 26, 2015

unit said:
Think of it like fishing for your dinner....you may enjoy line finshing, or fly fishing...perhaps you enjoy spear fishing. Net fishing is a lot more efficient....but going to the store and buying a fish is arguably the easiest....but lots of guys seem to cling to this silly idea of doing it the way they enjoy regardless of guaranteed results in other avenues

Nice analogy, I completely agree.
It's always about what you like and enjoy

VolGrad · Jun 26, 2015

kidcongo said:
I own a small 21 Tanto that I like. It is my last choice for EDC, and would be the first I would sell if I had to sell one. I haven't found any task in my life where it is better suited other than scraping paint out of the corner of window panes. However it looks super cool, and works well enough for EDC.

As your only CRK, I'd say pass. As an addition to a collection, or something to alleviate knife boredom, I'd go for it. It has its own charm, and is fun to use even if it's not ideal for what you are doing.

THIS exactly. I've owned a tanto Umnum and a small plain tanto. I have sold both. They are cool and I might own another someday but it's not something that's a priority to me.

1AbominAble1 · Jun 28, 2015

I carried a Tanto Zaan for about 3 years as my everyday knife.
I used it for everything and never found a job it wouldn't do. It never made me think that if rather be using a different style blade, but, I felt the same way about the Insingo I carried for about 2 years.
I never cared for the standard 21 blade shape but I fell into one with a significant birthday, now that I've carried it for more than a year I've fell in love with it too.

I didn't care for the small 21 tanto but the tanto Zaan is still my favorite and I've found lots of uses for the sub tip while still being able to keep the main tip minty.
I'd recommend that you try one, especially if you're interested in the appearance. It lacks nothing but does have the attribute of being the strongest tip they make-AND- if it brings you satisfaction it's more than worth the cost.