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

midnight flyer said:
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
Click to expand...

You can look around for a full sized one. They're on the big auction site and pop up occasionally on Amazon. There are also the fixed blades, which have full sized handles.
 
Tanto is easy to sharpen and good for opening packages. I actually like the secondary tip for scoring material too.
 
In my opinion, it's for personal preference first, and for being unable to carry a larger tanto second.

I see such tiny knives as very limited in their utility and combat capabilities. For that size, I would prefer a clip or spear point all the time. The Tanto is my favorite point style, but for such a tiny knife, I want belly.
 
On a small knife I would choose a wharncliffe many times to one over a tanto. As for opening boxes etc in my experience its far better yet still has a good section of flat cutting surface. I have carried both as edc's over the years and carry neither now.
 
If you wanted to 'stab' some1 with something... it dosn't matter the size... hell you could go ahead and stab something with a ball-point pen......

Knives are made for utility today... not even our soldiers are getting into hand-to-hand combat with the enemy anymore... this isn't back like trench warfare... now we can shoot at the enemy from 150+ yards away...

In the military, anyone who's done a few tours will have a multi-tool on them.. and at the very most a 4-5 inch folding knife for Utility tasks... any1 who knows anything about reality dosn't have a 12 inch fixed blade strapped to thier thigh..

Personally, I don't like tanto blades... to me.. they suck... flat out... maybe it's the way im using them.. maybe its the task I was using them for... But i find the a FFG leaf-blade is the best when it comes to slicing capabilites..

Tantos... not so much..

As for a reason for a small blade with a tanto shape... eh... a "cool" factor... "TACTICOOL" seems to be selling nowadays... unfortunatly the knife makers are turning to this type of crap to make money... instead of sticking to their roots and making usable knifes ...that are realistically marketed... (instead of beating on a knife till the cows come home in their videos)... its just sad... but hey... thats why I am blessed to know some great custom-knife makers and can have mine drawn up from scratch!!!! .. screw production knives ;)
 
sgt244 said:
If you wanted to 'stab' some1 with something... it dosn't matter the size... hell you could go ahead and stab something with a ball-point pen......

Knives are made for utility today... not even our soldiers are getting into hand-to-hand combat with the enemy anymore... this isn't back like trench warfare... now we can shoot at the enemy from 150+ yards away...

In the military, anyone who's done a few tours will have a multi-tool on them.. and at the very most a 4-5 inch folding knife for Utility tasks... any1 who knows anything about reality dosn't have a 12 inch fixed blade strapped to thier thigh..

Personally, I don't like tanto blades... to me.. they suck... flat out... maybe it's the way im using them.. maybe its the task I was using them for... But i find the a FFG leaf-blade is the best when it comes to slicing capabilites..

Tantos... not so much..

As for a reason for a small blade with a tanto shape... eh... a "cool" factor... "TACTICOOL" seems to be selling nowadays... unfortunatly the knife makers are turning to this type of crap to make money... instead of sticking to their roots and making usable knifes ...that are realistically marketed... (instead of beating on a knife till the cows come home in their videos)... its just sad... but hey... thats why I am blessed to know some great custom-knife makers and can have mine drawn up from scratch!!!! .. screw production knives ;)
Click to expand...

I guess the Gurkhas don't know anything about reality, right? :rolleyes:
 
sgt244 said:
If you wanted to 'stab' some1 with something... it dosn't matter the size... hell you could go ahead and stab something with a ball-point pen......

Knives are made for utility today... not even our soldiers are getting into hand-to-hand combat with the enemy anymore... this isn't back like trench warfare... now we can shoot at the enemy from 150+ yards away...

In the military, anyone who's done a few tours will have a multi-tool on them.. and at the very most a 4-5 inch folding knife for Utility tasks... any1 who knows anything about reality dosn't have a 12 inch fixed blade strapped to thier thigh..

Personally, I don't like tanto blades... to me.. they suck... flat out... maybe it's the way im using them.. maybe its the task I was using them for... But i find the a FFG leaf-blade is the best when it comes to slicing capabilites..

Tantos... not so much..

As for a reason for a small blade with a tanto shape... eh... a "cool" factor... "TACTICOOL" seems to be selling nowadays... unfortunatly the knife makers are turning to this type of crap to make money... instead of sticking to their roots and making usable knifes ...that are realistically marketed... (instead of beating on a knife till the cows come home in their videos)... its just sad... but hey... thats why I am blessed to know some great custom-knife makers and can have mine drawn up from scratch!!!! .. screw production knives ;)
Click to expand...

I find that a tanto actually works pretty well in the field. It does bushcraft chores just as well as most other knives. The only thing it sucks at is skinning but I don't skin much in the field to be honest. For field dressing it works just fine.

I actually find that FFG blades with lots of belly to be not all that useful outside the kitchen or food processing. And, to be honest, if its food that I am prepping in the field I dont care if it looks pretty.
 
the point of a tanto blade? oh it's at the end. ok for real though they're cool, thats why they are there. they add an air of tacticality and sleekness to the knife with little to no cost to the manufacturer. they are simply an aesthetic enhancer to make the knife cooler.
 
sgt244 said:
Their blades wouldn't do shite against a U.S. Army .50 bearing down on their position ... or can they throw them hundreds of yards?
Click to expand...

First of all, the Gurkhas work alongside American forces.

Second of all, war doesn't work like it does in video games. A buddy of mine from another forum I go to has a son who used his Cold Steel Recon Tanto in combat when insurgents rushed him while he was in the middle of a mag change. The blade went right through a steel plate (I don't rememberwhat the plate was for, it had ssomething to do with the insurgent's AK) and into the guy's heart. Saved his life.
 
I was stating a hypothetical.... Not saying they were enemies of ours....at all..

and second of all, it's a nice story but cannot be vetted in any way possible..

And yeah your right, war isn't like it is in video games.. and by no means am I a mall ninja.. I think that is all crap... But at the same point 99.9% of altercations between our troops and their "enemies"... are over 150 yards away.. and its shooting thats being done....

Once in a blue moon, will hand-to-hand combat be needed... sure anything can happen... but it'll be that 0.01% of the time...

Oh, and your story dosn't really make sense.... If the aggressor had an ak on him... instead of rushing your friend... how about aim down the sight and pull the trigger..?...

comon man, if your going to make something up... at least think it through...

Kwon Kwang said:
First of all, the Gurkhas work alongside American forces.

Second of all, war doesn't work like it does in video games. A buddy of mine from another forum I go to has a son who used his Cold Steel Recon Tanto in combat when insurgents rushed him while he was in the middle of a mag change. The blade went right through a steel plate (I don't rememberwhat the plate was for, it had ssomething to do with the insurgent's AK) and into the guy's heart. Saved his life.
Click to expand...
 
sgt244 said:
I was stating a hypothetical.... Not saying they were enemies of ours....at all..

and second of all, it's a nice story but cannot be vetted in any way possible..

And yeah your right, war isn't like it is in video games.. and by no means am I a mall ninja.. I think that is all crap... But at the same point 99.9% of altercations between our troops and their "enemies"... are over 150 yards away.. and its shooting thats being done....

Once in a blue moon, will hand-to-hand combat be needed... sure anything can happen... but it'll be that 0.01% of the time...

Oh, and your story dosn't really make sense.... If the aggressor had an ak on him... instead of rushing your friend... how about aim down the sight and pull the trigger..?...

comon man, if your going to make something up... at least think it through...
Click to expand...

I don't care if you believe it or not, but it's a true story. I may have recalled some details incorrectly, but it happened.
 
Kwon Kwang said:
The bottom line is that he did use his knife in combat to great effect.

This thread is getting way off topic.
Click to expand...

It is indeed getting way off topic.. thanks to you and your stories ;)

Im off to the gym... Ill let this end here...

Later bois!

And yeah... the cool-factor of the small tanto is its selling point for sure...

hell I dont like tantos.. but picked up a mini recon tanto for shi's and gigs... It wasn't bad at all.. not to do any real cutting.. but if you needed to cut a string or something and it was in your pocket... then why not ;) ... Lets guys!
 
r8shell said:
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.
Click to expand...

I use a CRKT Ringed Razel and sometimes a Razel Stubby for that task. Give one a try.

Tanto blades....it is beyond me to understand why people like them. They are designed for stabbing. About the only person I am likely to stab is myself by accident. I can understand the blade style with a Japanese tanto and they do have a strong point. But, what are we trying to use that point on? I don't own a tanto blade and never intend to buy one unless it is a Japanese sword/tanto.
 
22-rimfire said:
They are designed for stabbing.
Click to expand...

I read this all the time, but the truth of the matter is that they truly suck at stabbing.
Go ahead and try them out. Daggers work way better, as do trailing points and many other styles.

They're better at scraping paint than stabbing.

This has been a message from your friendly local stabaholic. ;)
 
I picked up a black tanto kershaw zing mainly because I like unassisted flippers. I have found that the shape has its place. As mentioned earlier, the flat blade is an excellent scraper and I also find it useful trimming off small branches on my bushes around the yard. Could be the way I use it but it just seems to cut the sticks better.

But as far as popularity, I agree with the tacticool movement.
 
It's not the "end all knife" for me. but I edc a Emerson mini CQC7 that is pretty functional for my needs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top