Who likes tanto, and why?

I had a CRKT KISS tanto and gave it to my son. I don't dislike them but I have no practical use for one.
 
I bought 2 large CS Voyagers on in clip point and the other in tanto. I like them both a lot. The tanto has a lower profile than the pocket machete size clip point model. I only use the flat of a blade so either works well but the tanto is leaner and feels better in my pocket.
 
Here's a couple with tip style that I like.

Bark River Tanto - Nice curve, and lots of belly on this one.
BRKT-LtdEd2009Tanto-DIB-1.jpg


Kanetsune Katana - This one is more chisel tipped with a double edge grind, but it is Japanese made, not USA.
KanetsuneKatana-3.jpg


Kanetsune Ten
KanetsuneTen-3.jpg




I'm not so fond of this style.

Puma TAC 1 - Single edge grind chisel style tip.
PumaTac1-1.jpg


Kevin
 
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Japanese tanto, like this hira-zukuri aikuchi, are timeless, understated works of functional art:

002_g.jpg




Most American "tanto" appear to be 20% useful and 80% trendy marketing gimmick aimed at skateboard yakuza, unless you're talking about this guy:

tonto-lone-ranger.jpg


From what I understand, he doesn't say much, and he's a good man to have at your back in a fight. What's not to like? :cool:
 
dialex said:
I love tanto blades myself. Not the so called "American tanto", but the one with a bit of belly. Although it is purposely designed for combat - or so they say, I found the strong tip especially useful for outdoors (strange, huh?).
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If memory serves me a "tanto" was originally a small japanese knife/dagger. I don't know why they chose that blade shape exactly though.
 
I generally avoid the usual (american production) tantos. I don't hate them, I like the looks of some, but find other styles more useful.
One unusual tanto blade that I liked was on Benchmade HK 14255. It has very little left of the original Japanese design, but I found myself really attracted to it. Knife was a bit too 'tactical', military looking, so I let it go later. But I still like it. The edge near the tip was long enough to do a lot of tasks and the slight curve on the primary edge provided aggressive cuts and helped to keep material on the blade. Knife has very fine tip and works great for piercing (not good for prying).

If I would've been abusing knife on a regular basis, I probably would've found some american tantos more useful. However, for my usual EDC tasks tantos can't provide much functional advantages for me, just the looks.
On the other hand, if one does just couple of cuts a day, there is not much functionality to worry about. It is better to choose what heart desires.

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(not my picture)
 
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It's not so much that I like tantos, but rather, I like fairly heavy tips for work. IMO, tantos make for good "beater" knives.
 
If memory serves me a "tanto" was originally a small japanese knife/dagger. I don't know why they chose that blade shape exactly though.
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From wiki:

A tantō (短刀?, "short sword") is a common Japanese single- or double-edged knife or dagger with a blade length between 15 and 30 cm (6-12 inches). The tantō was designed primarily as a stabbing weapon, but the edge can be used for slashing as well. Tantō appeared in the Heian period, but these blades lacked aesthetic quality and were used purely as weapons. In the early Kamakura period high-quality artistic tantō began to appear. Tantō production increased greatly around the Muromachi period and then declined in the Shintō period. Consequently, Shintō-period tantō are quite rare. They regained popularity in the Shin-Shintō Period.

Tantō are generally forged in hira-zukuri, meaning that their sides have no ridge line and are nearly flat, unlike the shinogi-zukuri structure of a katana. Some tantō have particularly thick cross-sections for armor-piercing duty, and are called yoroidoshi.

Tantō were mostly carried by samurai as commoners did not generally carry them. Women sometimes carried a small tantō called a kaiken in their obi primarily for self defense.

It was sometimes worn as the shōtō in place of a wakizashi in a daishō, especially on the battlefield. Before the 16th century, it was common for a samurai to carry a tachi and a tantō as opposed to a katana and a wakizashi.
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Of course wiki can be wrong, but it's at least a good start. :) Personnally I've seen a few that look good, but not really my thing. I really dislike the one-sided chisel versions, those are just a pain to work with in my opinion.
 
I have a CRK tanto Umnunzaan that I Really like. Im not sure what the

style of this tanto is called thou. The tip comes to a rounded point.
 
Dag-nabit said:
harkamus,

That Bob Lum is beautiful, do you own it, or is that just a file photo.

Kevin
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Just a file photo from boblum's website, which is still up in memory of the late master.

Maybe one day I'll own one, but prices for genuine Lum pieces are shooting up. Even disco'ed Spyderco Lum folding tantos are going up in price.
 
Rick said:
Japanese tanto, like this hira-zukuri aikuchi, are timeless, understated works of functional art:

Oh so true.



Most American "tanto" appear to be 20% useful and 80% trendy marketing gimmick aimed at skateboard yakuza, unless you're talking about this guy:

tonto-lone-ranger.jpg


From what I understand, he doesn't say much, and he's a good man to have at your back in a fight. What's not to like? :cool:
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Tonto.
Jay Silverheels.
The penultimate wing man.
Always a class act and an icon from my childhood.

CP
 
I like tanto's 'cause I think they look cool, martial, weapon-like (which is what they are I guess). I own a fair few. They are also not as useless as many people make them out to be, but other blade types are often more useful.
They make the best stabbers though, if you're into that. :D

They're not my first choice for camping or EDC, but they have their place and use.
And they look cool. ;)
 
oguruma said:
I'm just curious, who here is into tanto points?
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The original tanto was designed as a fighting blade and was a pretty effective design for slashing and stabbing. The more common "American Tanto" as it has come to be know was originally designed as a combat blade, but IMO its not a very good one and is generally a poor choice as an all-around utility blade. Looks cool though. :rolleyes:

sweet_hitch-hiker said:
it would make a good stabber, as that's what it was designed for.
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Only if you are stabbing through car doors or steel drums. The wedge shaped tip on an "American Tanto" is strong, but it pierces soft targets much less easily than a spear point or clip point blade will.
 
Like any other tool, I find the shape of the Tanto to be useful for some jobs and not so much for others, I don't dislike any shape of blade just because of cosmetics. I carried a Tanto a lot in the service, I like them for rough use and for tearing things up.
 
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