Tanto knife for bushcraft

[Shiloh]

Hi everyone,

Wanting to get peoples opinions on using a tanto knife for bushcraft. The reason I ask is they are ment to be so much easier to keep sharp since there is effectively only two angles you have to work with and this makes getting something in a fancy steel thats hard to sharpen but keeps a good edge much more appealing.

Has anyone ever tried a full sized tanto for bushcrafting before if so how was it? Did it fair ok against a normal bushcraft scandi?

Cheers for any thoughts

 

[Robson Valley]

What do you anticipate doing with this blade?
Will you have another edge along, like a hatchet?

 

[Nice65]

This is a tanto blade. They're not easy to sharpen accurately, your average scandi or bevelled edge only has one angle, applied the same to each side.

 

[Laurentius]

Well I dunno might as well use a chisel it is practically the same thing.

 

[Janne]

Morakniv makes a Swedish version of the Tanto, but they call it a chisel knife.

 

[Shelley]

A tanto is not designed for bushcraft, it's a fighting knife and was often made from broken swords (katana or wakazashi), taken where a sword was not allowed or practical, as such is is not full tang, has a thick spine and is saber ground, it usually has a guard (tsuba I think) too.
The angles on it are actually quite hard to sharpen correctly. The tip is very strong, designed to penetrate (wooden) armour, while it would make a good divot for say a fireboard it would suck at carving out a spoon. It is usually differentially tempered with the edge being hard but the spine being softer (this may make it bad for striking a firesteel, also they don't have a 90 degree spine).
Never tried making feathersticks with one and I don't think they would make a netting needle either (Mors Khohanslki test for a knife being a bushcraft knife).
Modern versions may be more forgiving/multi purpose, but really they are still fighting knifes and are best left to that...

 

[C_Claycomb]

The modern tanto blade shape can be grafted to just about any handle style, so tang and handle isn't really the issue in general terms (finding a specific one with a good handle might be more of a challenge). The defining characteristics are the short swept or or angled tip and the relatively thick stock or sabre style grind. One could certainly make a carefully selected tanto blade work for some bushcraft tasks. The question is, why on earth would you want to do so when there are so many other, better suited designs available.

From what you have said, your reasoning is that it will be easier to sharpen, so therefore you would be more confident in getting a "better" harder to sharpen steel. This is faulty logic and will lead you to waste time and money for little purpose. One of the very core tenets of bushcraft is that it is about the acquisition of skills. "Carry less by knowing more." Handicapping yourself with a sub-optimal knife design, so that you can get by with poorer sharpening skills is crazy. The equivalent to "Carry less by hiring a porter."

Add to this that many of the steels that are harder to sharpen due to abrasion resistance make poorer bushcraft knives (unless your bushcraft involves a lot of game skinning). Wood carving is best done with a polished low angle razor edge. Try that with S30V and the edge quickly loses its razor bite. CPM3V may be better, but in general this sort of edge, and its retention, is about hardness and very fine carbides, rather than an increased quantity of carbides. O-1, 52100, AELB, 1095, A2, 12C27, CPM154/RWL34 all take great polished edges and are not hard to sharpen.

Learn to sharpen on a Mora or Hultafor, £10 to £20, figure out what tasks your want the knife to do, and only then start shopping for something with fancier steel.

As a rule, something that looks like the Skookum Bush Tool is WAY better for bushcraft than something designed to punch holes in armour or car doors.

 

[Janne]

Had the tanto shape bern useful, then our knives would have looked like that traditionally.
Our classic blade shape has evolved since mankind started casting metal (or knapping flint?) and arrved at the shape we have today.

Shelley, I think you can have a very good bushcraft knife that is not fulltang,

 

[brambles]

The tip is very strong, designed to penetrate (wooden) armour,

I'd agree with your post apart from that element! Samurai armour was not made of wood, it was made of iron, lacquered to protect against the elements. Some people seem to only equate lacquer with wood for some reason.

 

[Janne]

They used several materials, in different places.
Bamboo, leather, chainmail ( steel/iron) and as you mention iron.
No doubt the richer or more important wearer - the more steel and iron components.


Like our warriors of past, the Japanese warrior had to learn to attack vulnerable areas with his weapons.
To try to cut or jab through the chest cuirass would likely result in a fractured blade.

I'd agree with your post apart from that element! Samurai armour was not made of wood, it was made of iron, lacquered to protect against the elements. Some people seem to only equate lacquer with wood for some reason.

 

[sunndog]

Pretty sure samurai used wooden armour at some point in time. And as said depending on the wealth of the warrior

 

[Janne]

A composite wood/bamboo and hard leather is lighter than metal, and just as strong.

 

[Shelley]

Wooden (bamboo), covered in lacquer was the most common armour type, this was lighter, cheaper, and allowed iron, which was not common to be reserved for weapons, not exclusively mind, but generally speaking. Some armour was leather, often with metal inserts, like ribs, to deflect a cut, full plate armour like your knights had, was not used, different weapons, different tactics and different solutions.
But as Chris points out, learning to sharpen, especially field sharpen, will help you immensely, if you can strop your O1 knife on a bit of leather often, you will maintain its edge and reduce the wear from needing a stone, also it will be sharper and cut more efficiently, with less danger when out and about.

You are probably right Janne, I just like my full tangs, feel safer to me, my preference, not gospel.

 

[Shiloh]

Sorry for the delay in replying, been away all weekend without much signal. I was thinking more a scandi tanto like the one below. The reason I'm asking is being able to have something easy to field sharpen but thats maybe in elmax or something like that. 01is easy to field Sharpen but elmax not so much. Potentially going to be touring south America for 3 months next year roughing as much of it as possible and will need to travel light for the motorbikes. Ideally if its easy to sharpen shape wise then I can keep a good edge on it without the wetstones. Its a pipe dream right now but its something to aim for!

Photo doesn't seem to be working right now. If you google image tanto scandi it should be the first one that comes up

 

[Nice65]

Sorry for the delay in replying, been away all weekend without much signal. I was thinking more a scandi tanto like the one below. The reason I'm asking is being able to have something easy to field sharpen but thats maybe in elmax or something like that. 01is easy to field Sharpen but elmax not so much. Potentially going to be touring south America for 3 months next year roughing as much of it as possible and will need to travel light for the motorbikes. Ideally if its easy to sharpen shape wise then I can keep a good edge on it without the wetstones. Its a pipe dream right now but its something to aim for!

Photo doesn't seem to be working right now. If you google image tanto scandi it should be the first one that comes up

Regardless of steel, I can't get why you think it's easier to sharpen 4 bevels rather than 2? And, as mentioned several times, a tanto is designed for piercing.

 

[Shelley]

I really don't think a tanto is the answer you are looking for...unless you intend to use the knife for sticking people that is, for your trip I would get a leatherman, then you have a pair of pliers, a saw a file and a knife for basic food prep, all in stainless, that will take care most of your needs and keep the weight down. Combine that with a little ceramic rod and you will be good to go.
Or get a katana.

 

[BigMonster]

Tanto is not easier to sharpen, just different. Chances are you will round that corner anyway after couple of sharpening sessions. In use it's just a different shape of sharpened piece of steel. Some tasks will be 10% harder to perform ith tanto, some will be 10% easier to perform. Just a metter of geting used to it.

 

[Samon]

Go for it mate. They are practical blades actually, not just for looking cool or hurting things.

IK've got the cold stel gi tanto and it's a thick, heavy 1055 carbon steel lump. Absolutely nothing wrong with it as a knife when camping, nothing at all! Just looks different.

And yes they are easy to sharpen, all knives are.