"American" Tanto grinding

Kevin McGovern

Kevin McGovern

Joined
Jul 31, 2015
Messages
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I have a friend who wants several knives in an "American" tanto configuration. I can't find any good videos to help me with grinding this accurately. I Think I would be more successful using a jig, and I'm not apposed to it, but when I have tried this my grinds are actually less consistent than freehand. Most likely due to my inexperience with a using a jig, and the jig (just a piece of 2" angle iron with screws for blade rests) not being what it could be. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
I grind the tip first.

Mark the edge and then mark how far back you want the tip to go. Hold the edge perpendicular to the platen (parallel to the floor) and work that grind back to the other line

Grind from the edge line to the other line on both sides and the angle with be equal.

Then grind the main bevel.

Yug9SH5.jpg
 
Seems as usual there are different ways of doing them. I've only done a couple, but I treat them as I would a large hollow ground Bowie. Completely rough grind the straight part right until the tip curve, then put on a fresh belt of the next grit up (36 for the main, 60 for the tip) grind the tip, then go over the whole thing with the finer belt to clean up .
 
Check out "Simple Little Life" on Youtube, he literally just did a vid on grinding one yesterday and today. It may help give ya a better idea.

~Paul
My YT Channel
Lsubslimed
... (It's been a few years since my last upload)
 
I have done it a few different ways. I also have done many tantos over the years.

I find grinding the tip first is so easy. If you grind it second and you do not get the grinds even on both sides, you keep grinding until you do.

Or you can just grind a simple V grind which is super easy and not play catch up later.

Another benefit is you can go right up to your finish grit and not have to screw with it later. You will know frustration when the grinds are all done and then you spend the rest of the time trying to put on the finish grit without screwing up the tip grinds
 
I tried tip second and now prefer tip first like Adam described. My reasoning is because the tip is less material and harder to match up to an existing bevel. But it seems much easier to grind bevels to match the existing tip.

I have not done very many.
 
I’m new to knife making and after fighting to get even bevels on a saber grind I tried for a simple tanto design.

However, I did the belly bevel first and tip second.

48709575311_167d4372c6_o_d.jpg


However, I kept struggling to get the tip angle consistent on both sides and ground this knife down to nothing!

I am definitely going to try the tip first on my second go around.

My mind works in angles... Can anyone recommend a good angle for the tip? Someone told me 45° but this won’t pull the bevel back far enough for me.
 
Skullmonkey said:
I’m new to knife making and after fighting to get even bevels on a saber grind I tried for a simple tanto design.

However, I did the belly bevel first and tip second.

48709575311_167d4372c6_o_d.jpg


However, I kept struggling to get the tip angle consistent on both sides and ground this knife down to nothing!

I am definitely going to try the tip first on my second go around.

My mind works in angles... Can anyone recommend a good angle for the tip? Someone told me 45° but this won’t pull the bevel back far enough for me.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum, Skullmonkey.
Did you try what AVigil AVigil recommended in post #6 ?
Grab some cheap steel from Home Depot and just practice the grind until you feel like you got it down.
45* is way too steep....maybe half that? Idk...I'm more of a eye ball it kind of guy. :D
Whatever you do, have fun at it.

Link to google custom search for Bladeforums.
https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=012217165931761871935:iqyc7cbzhci
 
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Do yourself a big favor early in your attempts and forget angles. They are what they are and will vary for many reasons ... even on the same blade. If you try and start with a specific angle your like will be frustrating.

Grind the bevels to the shinogi ( ridge) that you want. If it drives you crazy, plug those numbers into an angle calculator and see what the angle is.
For example, on an American Tanto (not my favorite shape, BTW) with a 3/16" thick blade ( rather thick, IMHO) and a yokote 1/2" wide, the edge angle is 19 degrees, inclusive ( 9.5DPS). If you made it kata-kiri-ha ( single bevel/chisel grind) the angle would be 18 degrees.
 
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Skullmonkey said:
Can anyone recommend a good angle for the tip?
Click to expand...

Don't worry about the angle. It's not necessary to calculate angles the majority of the time.

Here's how I grind a tanto:

- Hollow grind the primary bevel, but ensure that you leave the tip thick.
- Flat grind the tip. I like this grind to be 70 - 80% of the height of the primary bevel. Decrease the height or leave the edge thicker if you want a stronger point.

Doing a combination hollow/flat grind seems to give a more rounded transition around the yokote, which I like.
 
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