passthru

My knowledge of knives is limited to what I learned in Cub Scouts years ago.
What are some advantages/disadvantages to each type of blade? What are they best suited for?

The_Dunedan

Spear-point: ( dagger )
Better for thrusting; easier and deeper penetration due to double-edged profile. Double edges also cause it to do very nasty things once inside a target. Not a very practical utility knife, however, as there's no really safe way to choke up your grip for detailed work, and they tend to break a little more easily, esp. around the tip.

Tanto: Better cutting/slashing tip, but suffers on the thrust due to unsharpened back edge. More difficult to dislodge if you get stuck in ribs, tendons, etc etc. Stronger cross-section due to unsharpened spine, but edge is more delicate due to beveled profile. Not heavy enough for heavy-duty cutting, but more suited to detailed work than is a dagger.

Bowie/Drop-point:
Retains most of the Tanto-styles tip-cutting ability, while augmenting it with a "false" edge along the fron 1/4-1/3 of the spine, which can be sharpened if needed. Stronger edge than a Tanto, but stronger blade overall than a dagger. Best all-around fixed-blade design, IMO. Well-suited to heavy cutting, and the fact that most of the spine remains unsharpened allows you to choke up grip for detailed work.

The 'spine' is the thickest part of the blade, BTW...the central ridge on a dagger, or the back edge on a Tanto or Bowie.

cheesemoney

Sharp--useful. Dull--useful, but not as useful. Honestly, Tanto, and all that crap=useless. Might as well join the throwing axe craze or the star phenominon. A beer bottle and a knife make close to an even match. Better left practicing your sprinting, that'll save you more than any gun or knife.
Cheese

passthru

Thanks for the explanations.. I think by 'spear' I actually meant Drop-point..
Sounds like tanto isn't what I want, and I don't plan on stabbing anybody, so that helps narrow my choices =)

ananayal

about a month ago i bougtht a smith and wesson tanto. another question relating to the styles, i notice most knifes are sharpened on both sides, \/... but my tanto is sharpened like this... |/. sorry if that is confusing, but i am wondering if that is common with tanto blades, and how i should sharpen it.

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Snoogins

nowthen

Yeah, most tanto blades are "chisel ground", i.e. flat on one side and then ground to an edge on the other.

You should find you can sharpen it exactly the same as a conventional grind, unless you need to do major work on the edge (unlikely with a brand new knife..?).

In my opinion, I find tanto blades less useful overall than a good drop point, the lack of curve to the blade just seems to annoy me all the time during general cutting duties.

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RiceGuy

Just buy yourself a kukri. Strange knife, really...don't know if it would qualify as a tanto style blade. However, it's always a good conversation piece, and can be intimidating as hell. Also fantastic for utility work, though it does take some getting used to, since you have to strike with what would seem an awkward area on the blade.

jadedgrin

im a fan of tanto because the blades tend to retain their sharp natures without any effort are you part.. you dont have to baby it and treat it like you cant get it dirty.. but if your in the woods or something, well their is a reason bowie's have been around for so long =)

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Moonduck

Kukris are technically 'drop points".