What's the point of tanto blade on small folder?

Kershaws

Kershaws

Joined
Aug 3, 2013
Messages
592
Hello, so sometimes I'm shopping online for some blades, and I see some really small folders with a tanto style blade. For example, the Cold Steel Micro Recon Tanto, its a baby sized knife with a tanto blade. And I wonder what exactly is the point of that type of blade on a small folder like that. I know what the tantos original purpose was, but i'm not entirely for for the small folder, all I see it doing is becoming a nuisance from rounding of the edge angle after use, and the awkward feeling while cutting something. But I've never used a tanto edged knife so i'm not really sure how it feels to use one.
 
Aesthetics. Very, very few people are ever going to stab someone; let alone stab someone with a folder. If you do, tip strength will be the least of your concerns. I kind of have a soft spot for tantos, but they are annoying to sharpen. Benchmade makes some particularly nice tanto blades BTW.
 
I suppose you could use the secondary point for controlled tip cutting, like a box cutter, but I much prefer a small wharncliffe or sheepsfoot for this kind of use, and they're much easier to sharpen anyway. I'd say these mini tanto blades are more style than anything, for those who love the "Americanized" tanto look.

D'oh! Beaten by Bugout. :grumpy::D
 
amongst the many reasons
why anyone wound end up with a mini tanto blade would be :-
portability considerations.
budget constraints
an inevitable attraction for all things tanto
it was a gift.
but seriously;
it's possibly just personal preference
and liking for a particular model or design.
though i suspect it must be kinda odd
trying to whittle with a mini folding tanto.
 
If someone's main use for their knife is opening boxes a tanto would be an awesome blade to have.
 
I've used one to scrape window putty when reglazing a window. Not made to be a utility knife, but it got into the corners well.
 
Bugout Bill said:
Aesthetics. Very, very few people are ever going to stab someone; let alone stab someone with a folder. If you do, tip strength will be the least of your concerns. I kind of have a soft spot for tantos, but they are annoying to sharpen. Benchmade makes some particularly nice tanto blades BTW.
Click to expand...

How are 2 perfectly straight angles hard to sharpen?
The American tanto blade has many uses. A lot of pele dismiss them outright without really making an effort to use them.i own several tanto blade folders and fixed blades. An important thing to note is that the knife is 50% of the equation, the person whose hand it sits in is the other 50%. A bad mechanic always blades their tools.
 
RevDevil said:
How are 2 perfectly straight angles hard to sharpen?
The American tanto blade has many uses. A lot of pele dismiss them outright without really making an effort to use them.i own several tanto blade folders and fixed blades. An important thing to note is that the knife is 50% of the equation, the person whose hand it sits in is the other 50%. A bad mechanic always blades their tools.
Click to expand...

OTOH, a good mechanic will always know what tools work best for him. ;)
 
Seilu said:
A talented Chef can make good food without proper tools lol
Click to expand...

Agreed, but a good chef will know what the best tools are. He can make even better food with better tools.

Just like F1 drivers, when they're good the can make anything work but I bet they prefer a car to their specs. ;)

Bottom line is, we can make all the analogies we want but the fact remains some people have their preferences and will choose what they believe is best for them. Doesn't mean that they can't make an unfavorable situation work for them.
 
For 40 plus years I have dismissed tanto blades as the tools of traditional martial arts practitioners and mall ninjas.

Recently, I acquired a KaBar Utilitac 2 tanto style with a fine edge. This thing literally came sharp enough to shave hair. That got me to thinking, how useful would this be in my chores as a finish carpenter? Well, pretty doggone useful.

I can sharpen my pencils, open packages and boxes and cut up materials with the flat of the blade. But that super sharp, flat point makes an excellent trimmer of molding, splinter cutter, and when I am mortising hinges it works as well as my chisel (better?) for inside cleanup of the mortises of hinges and locks. Had I not gotten the "fine edge" model I never would have thought to use it for such practical use. I love it; it is like having a portable chisel in my pocket.

Can't believe it took me so long to figure that one out...

Robert
 
midnight flyer said:
For 40 plus years I have dismissed tanto blades as the tools of traditional martial arts practitioners and mall ninjas.

Recently, I acquired a KaBar Utilitac 2 tanto style with a fine edge. This thing literally came sharp enough to shave hair. That got me to thinking, how useful would this be in my chores as a finish carpenter? Well, pretty doggone useful.

I can sharpen my pencils, open packages and boxes and cut up materials with the flat of the blade. But that super sharp, flat point makes an excellent trimmer of molding, splinter cutter, and when I am mortising hinges it works as well as my chisel (better?) for inside cleanup of the mortises of hinges and locks. Had I not gotten the "fine edge" model I never would have thought to use it for such practical use. I love it; it is like having a portable chisel in my pocket.

Can't believe it took me so long to figure that one out...

Robert
Click to expand...

You may also like the "Razel" tip style. It was actually designed to be used as a chisel. Look up CRKT's Razel line.

As for tanto tips on small folding knives, I don't think it matters that much since you'll probably only be cutting with the tip anyway.
 
It was one of the first knives I Bought a tanto SOG, I beat the pee out of it, it was my practice knife for sharpening. I had to get one to see what all of the hulabuloo was, I would rather have a drop point or spear point, something in that nature. It has it's own place.
 
Here the difference between a regular Mini Barrage and the Tanto Warn version.

A106D7ED-35B4-4979-907C-25E81F9399E6-307-0000001BEBFA91CD_zpsda4872da.jpg


I actually like the flat smaller surface and find the angled part after the tip useful too.

YMMV
 
RevDevil said:
How are 2 perfectly straight angles hard to sharpen?
The American tanto blade has many uses. A lot of pele dismiss them outright without really making an effort to use them.i own several tanto blade folders and fixed blades. An important thing to note is that the knife is 50% of the equation, the person whose hand it sits in is the other 50%. A bad mechanic always blades their tools.
Click to expand...

I am a bit of a novice at freehand sharpening, so I find having to focus on not roundingn the secondary tip to be kind of annoying. I own a couple of tantos, namely a Kershaw RJI and a cold steel kobun. I have used both, but I can't honestly say that they are any better for my uses than a drop point blade. If I need to scrape, I'll use either the primary edge or swedge of my knife. The only use I really have for my tantos is stabbig and looking pretty, roles they excell at. That's just me though.

Personally, I prefer more traditional tantos. CRK tantos and the Spyderco vallotton aren't half bad either.
 
Last edited:
Stabbing something doesn't have to be a person, so I like my beater CRKT for that, opening boxes and scraping with the flat end. Works great for me, plus I just like the way they look.
 
XiaolongJackson said:
You may also like the "Razel" tip style. It was actually designed to be used as a chisel. Look up CRKT's Razel line.

As for tanto tips on small folding knives, I don't think it matters that much since you'll probably only be cutting with the tip anyway.
Click to expand...

It was actually the Razel style that got me thinking about using it as a small planing blade. I saw the mini with a bone handle and was about to buy it online when I ran into one at a gun show and it is just too small for my mitts.

Robert
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top