Tantos: do you love/hate ‘em?

What do you think about tanto blades?

  • Total voters
    243
GOT my new Spyderco PM2 Tanto. Very nice. I did not buy it to cut tomato's in the kitchen. LOL. Lots of negative comments from people that never touched one. Get your pre=order in for the second round.
 
:) I still love 'em , after all these years , but don't carry them as much .

Used to be very exotic , rare and sexy . :eek:

Now I see them sold as cheap work knives at the farm supply stores . :rolleyes:
 
mwhich50 said:
Are these considered tantos?
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No x1000, couldn't be further from one.
 
I voted hate’em although hate is a bit strong. I mainly dislike having two sharpening edges. If I get a knife with no belly, I much prefer a wharncliffe or a sheepsfoot.
 
BC2F7351-FA9E-4FD0-A855-B0D3A446FCD4.jpeg I like them just fine.
A few of my work knives are tantos with part serrated blades, the horror.
 
I am really surprised so many people like them.
Years ago when I just got into knife hobby and saw some pictures and videos, I thought tantos are the best. Then I bought one and instantly hated them and won't ever buy another one. Slicing with it was awkward and thick blade with low grind felt like it was designed to be dull.
For me it just makes sharpening more complicated while not doing anything better or even as good as normal clip/drop/wharncliffe.

And I don't even think they look cool anymore. For that I now prefer stuff like Fremont Jack, Copperlock clip point, or sway back wharncliffe.
 
I don’t hate them. Not gonna say they’re my favorite shape tho. I own two. When I first got one it was awkward to use. Once I got used to them and found the best way to use for my tasks things got a lot better. For me, certain tasks they really excel at and others they just suck at. If you told me tomorrow the only knife I can have is my Inkosi tanto I wouldn’t freak out. I could get by. Wouldn’t be my first choice but I’d make due. I opened a can with my 21 tanto the other day so there’s that anyway. 1776311B-D670-4888-82C5-36D4F0550073.jpeg
 
Like a lot of the people on this thread, I didn't care for tantos until I got a Microtech. Picked up the RSK Ultratech and it only comes in tanto, but has more belly than the drop point. Ever since moving to Georgia where I can legally carry it I have. Really gotten to like the tanto, but I don't need any more unless they're Japanese profile.
 
I enjoy tantos, but I’m particular about their shape, I prefer gently sweeping tanto’s as opposed to the stubbier tanto tips that seem to be favored by “zombie hunter” types. The grind also plays a fair portion in my preference.
 
My first "good" knife was a Camillus CUDA (when they were USA made) with a tanto blade. It was the only CUDA at the store, don't know if I would have chosen tanto or not given the choice. When Camillus went out of business (or restructured) I stopped carrying it. At the time I figured it might be worth something someday and I like the unique opening method, so it became a "safe queen". After that, all my knives were walmart specials for quite some time. Eventually, I got a goofy Jim Wagner/Boker collaboration with a tanto. It was a crappy EDC knife and one of my buddies who was really into knives told me tantos weren't good for anything except penetration. After that, I hated tantos for years. If I saw one it made me shake my head.

Then I saw Eric Glesser showing off the prototype for the PM2 Tanto. My first thought was to dismiss it. Then I thought about how delicate the tip on my regular PM2 looks. Then I started thinking about my old Camillus and I started feeling nostalgic. Next thing I knew I was obsessed with getting the PM2 Tanto and was kinda agitated that they weren't putting out more information about the release date. Thankfully I was lucky enough to get one from the first batch. The first thing I did with it was to lift my old registration sticker off my license plate before putting the new one on, I think it worked better for that task than any non-tanto would have. It's fine for most non-slicey work. I've always got a few knives on me or near me, so if I need a slicer I grab something else.

So for a long time I was indifferent to them, then hated them, now I like them for the nostalgia. Depending on how you use your knife determines if they are a good design or not. Most of the time I would probably choose a more traditional shape. I know people who regularly abuse their blades, use them as screwdrivers, sharpen with a grinding wheel, etc. For those people, I think a tanto would be a good choice.
 
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I'm lukewarm to them. I think they look awesome, but I'm not a big fan of them for the utility aspect and I find them more difficult to sharpen. I previously had a Griptilian tango and eventually traded it. Over time I've found myself preferring wharncliffes for EDCs, and I also like the reverse tango used by Benchmade and Kershaw, among others.

The Microtech tangos look so mean. I love the profile.
 
I've been carrying a tanto daily after not carrying one for quite a while.
Sort of a "come full circle" thing as one of my first "real" knives was a CS Recon 1 that I loved when I was 14 and starting out in HVAC at 18
Since then, I "matured" and have really favored smaller, thinner, sharper blades made for slightly more task specific tasks.
Examples would be fully-serrated sheeps-foots, plain edge wharncliffes, serrated hawkbills, fillet knife, duct knife, utility razor etc.

Going back to a tanto again has been nice in that I use it for the things that would probably screw up the edges on my other knives.
Cuts where I'm almost certainly going to whack metal, concrete, rock etc. , light prying, scraping; cuts where a working edge is as good as a razor... I've basically been using a tanto to save thinnner, sharper blades from damage. :D
Being made by Ben Tendick from CPM3V helps too ;)
Comes in handy for removing old, stuck AC covers with mountains of tape, gasket material, mastic paint, insulation, foam etc. sealing them shut, and in many cases, holding them together :rolleyes:
b95a6269f79c7264ac14882f99f3e06083b5358f.jpg

I really like tantos that put more emphasis on "pointyness" rather than being "Americanized" to the point of having a bit of a
blunt-nose , making penetration a bit irritating, and the overall profile too chunky.
ae825814f568289cf22751033e220c30279bd616.jpg

If I was forced to bring just one knife to work though, it'd be this Spyderco Tasman Salt, hands down...:eek::D
I offer no apologies to plain-edge/drop-point lovers who are leery of serrations and awkward looking blade shapes :p:p:p
14274c5c99ec61a31936594e988002b53bdb6a78.jpg
 
Korean Hog said:
......Going back to a tanto again has been nice in that I use it for the things that would probably screw up the edges on my other knives.

14274c5c99ec61a31936594e988002b53bdb6a78.jpg
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I don't live near the ocean (salt water). Is corrosion a really big problem for HVAC systems or is it just the outside units?
 
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