Tanto Point in stock
An American tanto point has a straight primary edge that meets a short, steeply angled front edge at a distinct corner, rather than curving to the tip. It puts an unusual amount of steel directly behind the point, which is the whole reason it exists.
The traditional Japanese tanto is a short sword with a graceful curved profile. The angular shape sold as a tanto on modern folders is an American reinterpretation, popularized in the 1980s, with a chisel-like front edge and a hard corner where the two edges meet.
Both names are in use, so read the photo rather than the word.
The point is very strong, because the spine stays full height almost to the tip. It punches through tough material well and resists breaking if it gets levered. The corner also acts as a second working point for scraping and scoring.
The cost is belly, of which it has almost none. Slicing anything soft with a tanto is awkward, and skinning with one is genuinely unpleasant. It is a specialist shape, not an all-rounder.
The term is not academic here. 83 of the products currently on our shelves describe this feature in their own manufacturer specifications, across 7 of the nine brands we stock. Examples in stock right now include Gerber Propel Downrange A/O, Boker Ak1 American Tanto, Case Kinzua Framelock Orange.
Everything below is pulled live from the catalog, so what you see is what is actually in the Woodlawn warehouse today.