Why Tanto?

I've got one tanto (The emerson CQC-15) and I'm a pretty big fan. It works well in nearly every piercing situation I run into. Just my opinion.
 
Every carry knife I own is an American Tanto. Very useful utility knife. The only thing the blade design with not do for me is the field dressing of game animals. Other than that, it is an excellent user.
 
The flat edge near the tip is absolutely perfect for scraping things off of flat surfaces. Sticker, baked on food, old paint, gunk on the floor, etc, etc. I love my tanto.
 
I don't own any tanto blades. Have had a few, but never found them to be as useful as the more "traditional" blade shapes.

However, I certainly would not mind owning a Bob Lum tanto.
 
Unlike a lot of people, apparently, I actually do like the americanized tanto blade style, but only for specific uses. Like was mentioned before, the tip strength is one of its selling points (regardless of "mall ninja worthiness"), and a strength that I believe makes it useful. Specifically, I use my tanto knife as an icepick, because I prefer to use a solid block of ice over cubes. Very useful for gin and tonics. Truthfully though, I can't really foresee myself stabbing through anything much more resistant than some of those huge plastic 500 gallon water containers or something similar.
 
ever heard the term "sharpened pry-bar"?
well, at least thay was one of the given "tactical" considerations of the single ground "chisel-edge" tantos...besides having what appears to be an already purpose-built "snap-off tip" of a regular pointed bowie-type knife.
 
The only added benefit that a tanto provides is a thicker tip (on some models) and possibly ease of sharpening. The straight lines on the blade don't seem to give any particular benefit for cutting. However, I'd have no problem carrying a tanto if I liked the overall design of the knife. Tantos that I'd be happy to carry:

Emerson CQC-7B Wave
Emerson HD-7
Emerson CQC-15 (modified tanto)
Benchmade 14250 (they just look cool to me)
Spyderco Lum Tanto folder (a design from a legend, can't be mad at that)

If I were carrying any of these knives, I wouldn't feel like I was under-equipped compared to having some knife with a belly.
 
I don't see how the shape of an american tanto gains any more tip strength than your average drop point.
 
WongKonPow said:
I don't see how the shape of an american tanto gains any more tip strength than your average drop point.
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It doesn't necessarily do that. But many times knife makers leave more steel just before the tip compared to their spear points/drop points.

Here's a picture of a Hinderer XM-18 "Spanto" tip next to a Snody Shank Kit knife. The spanto is a tanto tip mixed with a spear point blade shape, popularized more recently by Rick Hinderer and his XM-18 design:

1247063874.jpg
 
Kaizen1 said:
It doesn't necessarily do that. But many times knife makers leave more steel just before the tip compared to their spear points/drop points.
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Exactly, it's not the shape itself, but what makers do with it. A drop point with the same width, same thickness, and same angle of upsweep to the tip will have a stronger tip because of the curve than a tanto will.

A Cold Steel Kobun(tanto) compared to an Ontario Spec 102 Hunter(drop point) will show that the Drop point tip has more steel near the tip, therefore stronger than the tanto. They are similar widths, both hollow ground, with the same angle towards the tip. In other words, the drop point would out-stab the tanto even in regard to car hoods and oil drums if we are strictly talking about tip strength.

The tip of the tanto is flat ground, not hollow ground, but if the drop point was saber ground then it would be stronger once again.

It is not the shape, it is the hype and what makers do with the shape that have promoted the idea that Tanto's somehow naturally have a stronger tip. They don't.
 
i wish more knives were made with the Classic Japanese Tanto Bladeshape, i find the americanized version so so for EDC, but the heacy curve and Belly on the original Tanto would probably be a fantastic utility edge
 
Cynic2701 said:
Unlike a lot of people, apparently, I actually do like the americanized tanto blade style, but only for specific uses. Like was mentioned before, the tip strength is one of its selling points (regardless of "mall ninja worthiness"), and a strength that I believe makes it useful. Specifically, I use my tanto knife as an icepick, because I prefer to use a solid block of ice over cubes. Very useful for gin and tonics. Truthfully though, I can't really foresee myself stabbing through anything much more resistant than some of those huge plastic 500 gallon water containers or something similar.
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be carefull with the ice chipping, i have bent the tips on a spyderco police and a emerson CQC7 doing that, which kinda suprised me, it did just bend the very edge of the tip, ya could mostly feel it with your thumb but ya could see it too if ya looked closely, so be carefull doing that.

i also edc'd a emerson SOCFK tanto for over a year and it did the job, it provides a sharp edge which is all i usually need.

the Lum tanto is a good one too, i also edc'd one of those for a while, its imho the best tanto for edc use, it was also longer than i expected, right at 4", i wish i still had one of the 3 i have owned but i swapped them off, one of them was a used ti lum in 90% or so i swapped even for a EKI I&I tanto, one of my better deals lol.
 
WongKonPow said:
Exactly, it's not the shape itself, but what makers do with it. A drop point with the same width, same thickness, and same angle of upsweep to the tip will have a stronger tip because of the curve than a tanto will.

A Cold Steel Kobun(tanto) compared to an Ontario Spec 102 Hunter(drop point) will show that the Drop point tip has more steel near the tip, therefore stronger than the tanto. They are similar widths, both hollow ground, with the same angle towards the tip. In other words, the drop point would out-stab the tanto even in regard to car hoods and oil drums if we are strictly talking about tip strength.

The tip of the tanto is flat ground, not hollow ground, but if the drop point was saber ground then it would be stronger once again.

It is not the shape, it is the hype and what makers do with the shape that have promoted the idea that Tanto's somehow naturally have a stronger tip. They don't.
Click to expand...

I specifically mentioned that the thicker tips are in "some models". I was pointing to tendencies with this particular blade design. There's a reason that Rick Hinderer thought that in mixing a tanto with a spear point, he should put a thick tip on the knife. In blade styles, we find tendencies and not absolute rules that makers need to stick to. In general, big chopper blades don't come hollow ground, and yet we can find exceptions to this. The "hype" that comes with the idea of tantos having stronger tips may be a self fulfilling deal with makers who purposefully put more steel toward the tip because they are "tantos". Any any case, these are tendencies and there would be no surprise to see a tanto design with a thick tip.
 
I work in a extrusion shop and have enjoyed the use of part serrated tanto knives for years while on the job. The flat main edge as well as the squared up tanto portion are excellent for scraping die lips and die faces which we do often every day. The tanto config is an excellent scrapper on many surfaces. We also have the need to cut into heavy corrugated boxes where the tanto and the serrations are very handy. Also the acute point works very well for scoring seal and gasket material on the job.

DSC06542.jpg
 
Kaizen1 said:
I specifically mentioned that the thicker tips are in "some models". I was pointing to tendencies with this particular blade design. There's a reason that Rick Hinderer thought that in mixing a tanto with a spear point, he should put a thick tip on the knife. In blade styles, we find tendencies and not absolute rules that makers need to stick to. In general, big chopper blades don't come hollow ground, and yet we can find exceptions to this. The "hype" that comes with the idea of tantos having stronger tips may be a self fulfilling deal with makers who purposefully put more steel toward the tip because they are "tantos". Any any case, these are tendencies and there would be no surprise to see a tanto design with a thick tip.
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Strider SmF-T RW-1 on the bottom, ZT 0301 on the top.



 
The straight edge region of the point may be used as a push chisel or scraper. The point of transition (yokote) will initiate a cut by piercing the medium before the blade is dragged through.

I have no use for them, but many do.
 
I have not run into a situation yet where I couldn't cut what I needed to cut with an americanized tanto (BM MiniGrip 557). I do prefer drop-points but I don't understand all the hate on tantos. To say it can't cut or whatever is bogus, IMHO.
 
"Americanized" means hollow ground and longer handles. The Japanese blades had both the curved and the straight points.
 
UpChUcK said:
I have not run into a situation yet where I couldn't cut what I needed to cut with an americanized tanto (BM MiniGrip 557). I do prefer drop-points but I don't understand all the hate on tantos. To say it can't cut or whatever is bogus, IMHO.
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I recently acquired my first tanto, a BM MiniGrip 557 partially serrated blade. I agreee with upchuck and babakanoosh45. And with the Axis lock what's not to like? I'm not a tanto lover or a tanto hater; as with every other blade style they have their sharp and dull points.
 
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