Tanto - Blade Geometry

Japanese Tanto Info

Description

Tanto blade is a bit of a misnomer, as it is not so much a blade shape as it is a type of knife. The Japanese Tanto is small knife, usually between 6-12 inches in blade length, with a large variety of blade shapes included some double edged designs. The knife was designed as a stabbing weapon so they were usually designed with tip penetration in mind.

The Americanized Tanto is a different classification and this page is here primarily to make that distinction. Japanese Tanto knives do not have the angular tips that American Tantos do.

The example below is not of a genuine Japanese tanto, however, it gives an fairly accurate representation of what a Japanese Tanto generally looks like. This is just one of the possible blade styles on a Japanese Tanto.

Tanto Examples