There isn’t a person working in the knife industry today that knows more about the Tanto than Cold Steel does. It was, after all, Cold Steel who invented and popularized this knife style in the early 1980’s. We have spent well over a million dollars persuading the public, both through advertising and live or videotaped demonstrations, of the Tanto’s many advantages. We have been producing Tanto’s for more than 25 years now, and there is still no factory or custom knife maker around making a Tanto that can approach the cutting, slashing or piercing power of one that is manufactured by Cold Steel. In addition, the Tantos come with our famous flattened oval Kraton handle. The oval shape provides a solid grip and resists rolling or twisting in the hand under hard use, the kind that, over time, would destroy a lesser knife. The tapered, solid steel pommel is another important Tanto feature that should not be ignored. Lynn Thompson designed it to concentrate the full force of a crushing blow in a small area so that even a moderately powerful blow can be remarkably effective in disarming or otherwise incapacitating an attacker. This knife features a six inch, VG-1 San Mai III blade with a restyled guard for increased finger protection.