Recently the “knife world” got word that knife company Cold Steel was being sold to another company.
That got me to thinking about the knives that put Cold Steel on the map – tanto blades.
These Japanese-inspired blades, sometimes referred to as “ninja knives” because of the style, are STILL super popular.
And it turns out, there are 3 good reasons for that…
Are Ninja Knives The BEST Blades?
One of the reasons the “Americanized tanto” (like the one in the picture above) got popular is that they’re easy to make.
This means manufacturers spend more time making the whole knife a high-quality model, if you ask me.
What you may not realize, though, is that’s an advantage for you, too, because…
1. Tantos Are Easy To Sharpen
The chisel grind of tanto blades means many of them are sharpened on only one side.
This means as long as you strop the other side flat, you can put a pretty sharp edge on them without even trying.
There are no curves to deal with, either — just two straight lines for the main edge and the angled edge.
That means you can keep these blades super sharp all the time, with only a little effort.
2. The Tip Is Very Strong
The old Cold Steel ads had people stabbing tanto-blade knives through car hoods.
Personally, I’ve never been attacked by a car.
But having a really strong tip is a great thing.
Tanto tips are basically reinforced, thanks to the blade profile, so they are harder to break when you’re stabbing things with extreme force.
3. They Just Look Cool (Which Matters)
I know, I know… it doesn’t actually matter if your knife looks cool.
But aren’t you more excited about carrying a blade that you actually like?
Won’t you practice more with it, too?
It seems to me that with all the blades on the market these days, you might as well carry something that you really enjoy.
After all, that’s why having the choice is such a good thing?
One of the slickest, most attractive tanto folders (also called “kwaiken” style folders) I’ve ever seen is available here.
No matter what tanto-blade knife you buy, though, I think you’ll be extremely pleased with this particular blade profile.