Why people hate on tantos?

Sharpen the tip like a chisel,if it has a secondary bevel...which will be thick and obtuse. The sharpen the blade and treat the "heel" as a "tip"
I believe the "tanto" tip popularised by Lynn Thompson was a design inspired by Japanese swords. The design intent on the sword was to limit tip damage to a small bevel at the front that could be repaired or polished seperate to the curved cutting edge.
 
When I was frist buying knives I had a few tantos, but never really warmed up to them and there is nothing that I need to pierce that I cannot do with a drop point, also not a fan of recurves, but if you like them enjoy. The tantos I have now are "reverse tantos" like the Malibu
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"Reverse tanto points" are what the PracTac crowd call sheepsfoot and wharnecliffe tips. I think the great warrior "Gecko45" may have coined it.
 
My cousin was an FBI field agent for 15 years. He's now been in a supervisor position for 4 years. They really don't want you in the field after 40ish, and he will be 48 this month.

He was a field agent in NYC for 10 years. It's not glorious, you don't drive around in brand new blacked out Chevy Tahoe SUV's. His first car was a 25 year old rusty Crown Vic. Fit right in on the street in NYC. He mostly fid surveillance, tracking Pakistani and Afghani terror cells. He only actually went on a raid twice.

After having gone through the naval academy and then 6 years as a captain in the Marines, it was actually a bit underwhelming, and stressful I'm a different way. Living out of your car for three weeks on a stake out was not easy.

He was outfitted with a Glock 23 (.40), an HK MP-10 (10mm version of the MP5) and a 12ga Remington pump shotgun. He also had an axe, but no knife.
Yea man, that's an interesting career for sure. Doing surveillance wouldn't be so bad for a guy with my personality type that doesn't mind waiting and watching for long periods of time, however the anxiety of never knowing if you're also being watched would probably get to me pretty good. Sounds like a cool dude. My grandpa was also a Captain, though in the Army during the battle of Okinawa of WW2.

Thanks for sharing that. By the way, a 10mm version of an MP5 is about as cool as it gets. I've always loved MP5's, and the 10mm round is a bad mofo.
 
Yea man, that's an interesting career for sure. Doing surveillance wouldn't be so bad for a guy with my personality type that doesn't mind waiting and watching for long periods of time, however the anxiety of never knowing if you're also being watched would probably get to me pretty good. Sounds like a cool dude. My grandpa was also a Captain, though in the Army during the battle of Okinawa of WW2.

Thanks for sharing that. By the way, a 10mm version of an MP5 is about as cool as it gets. I've always loved MP5's, and the 10mm round is a bad mofo.
You're welcome. My grandfather also fought in WWII, was grievously injured fighting on the Siegfried line (battle of the bulge). I inherited his purple heart. My great uncle also fought in WWII, he was a navigator and gunner on a B-24 Liberator.

My cousin said the MP10 was difficult to shoot, but I also know he is not a very good shot, which should be an oxymoron for federal agent. I've shot with him a bit, pretty much whenever he's in town. He's in Virginia now. His sister told me he struggled at the naval academy with qualifying with the M4 and M9.
 
K.O.D. K.O.D. Whew.. The Battle of the Bulge was a hell of a bloody and important battle. It's thanks to the older generations like your grandfather, your great uncle, and my two grandpas that we didn't get sucked into some Nazi superpower run crap planet. It's crazy to think how different our generations are. I'm super grateful to all the men that fought to protect our freedom.

And to post something relevant to the thread, I keep this little Terzuola design with the mortised g10 handle under the front seat in my Jeep at all times. It doesn't have any transitions like we usually think tantos should, however I think it's pretty close to a more traditional Japanese tanto. Also, this thread made me carry this old tanto Kershaw beater yesterday. The tanto design is pretty useful for different stuff. I had to cut off parts of these labels and the tanto tip came in nicely for that.
Civivi Terzuola.jpgKershaw tanto.jpgKershaw tanto1.jpg
 
K.O.D. K.O.D. Whew.. The Battle of the Bulge was a hell of a bloody and important battle. It's thanks to the older generations like your grandfather, your great uncle, and my two grandpas that we didn't get sucked into some Nazi superpower run crap planet. It's crazy to think how different our generations are. I'm super grateful to all the men that fought to protect our freedom.

And to post something relevant to the thread, I keep this little Terzuola design with the mortised g10 handle under the front seat in my Jeep at all times. It doesn't have any transitions like we usually think tantos should, however I think it's pretty close to a more traditional Japanese tanto. Also, this thread made me carry this old tanto Kershaw beater yesterday. The tanto design is pretty useful for different stuff. I had to cut off parts of these labels and the tanto tip came in nicely for that.
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Yeah I carried my Heretic Medusa yesterday. It's not the typical tanto.20231003_184907.jpg
 
Not all "tanto" profiles are the same.

Even with Cold Steel knives, the two very similar models, the Airlite tanto and the SR1 tanto has different blade styles.

The Airlite style, similar to CRK, as the front edge made purely to pry, doesn't mean/need to resharp. The belly is flat grind, cut well enough. CRK has the belly slightly more hollow.

The SR1 has the more common tanto with hollow grind belly and the tip has flat grind and longer. It is more or less compound profile.

IMG_20230202_224436.jpg


Then there is the compound profile without being a tanto (the bottom in the picture, the top one is CS Airlite).
 
Not all "tanto" profiles are the same.

Even with Cold Steel knives, the two very similar models, the Airlite tanto and the SR1 tanto has different blade styles.

The Airlite style, similar to CRK, as the front edge made purely to pry, doesn't mean/need to resharp. The belly is flat grind, cut well enough. CRK has the belly slightly more hollow.

The SR1 has the more common tanto with hollow grind belly and the tip has flat grind and longer. It is more or less compound profile.

IMG_20230202_224436.jpg


Then there is the compound profile without being a tanto (the bottom in the picture, the top one is CS Airlite).
Not to derail, but the tips of the Airlite and CRK tanto are supposed to be sharp, and are definitely not “made purely to pry”. Also, the SR1 tanto is flat ground.
 
Not to derail, but the tips of the Airlite and CRK tanto are supposed to be sharp, and are definitely not “made purely to pry”. Also, the SR1 tanto is flat ground.
I have been using the Airlite and never find the tip portion to be super sharp or anything. I don't find it any good for cutting neither. The angle is very high. For light prying, it does excel.
 
We gotta keep this thread going, I like the vibe! Here's my very well loved, carried, and used large Sebenza 21. I wasn't sure about the tanto when I got it, however over time I've really grown to like the blade shape. I really like how CRK grinds their tantos. I forgot I hadn't wiped the sharpie off the edge after a bit of a touch up.
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Ohh shizit! I rarely get to see a lg tanto much less in the morph scales. You have way too many tanto’s and should sell me that one asap!!
For a long time I really wanted a VECP drop point (and still do), try as I might I can never get one of the button lock versions from recent drops.

The LG Tanto is my "hot rod", has a distinct character in hand and look from everything else I own and the closest I have to pocket jewelry (based solely on looks), though I use them all...
 
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