Making a Tanto Knife | The Japanese Samurai’s Knife of Choice

Today I'm fulfilling a customer order and forging a Japanese tanto knife! This blade was fun to try out, as it's a style I've never made before! I worked hard to incorporate triangular angles throughout the blade, and I'm really happy with how it turned out! And what's better, I forged it from some rusted scrap metal rebar that I had around! Forging this knife was a blast, and definitely a welcome challenge. Let me know what kind of knives you'd like to see in the future, and be sure to subscribe and like if you enjoyed!
--Other knife projects I've done: • Knife Making Videos
--Follow my Instagram for more frequent content: / todd.with.a.hammer
And as always, thanks for watching!

[@nvk5070]

Brother your getting better every video

[@ToddKoch]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[@nitrofueled505]

love the vids man youve shown me how accessible forging can be and inspired me to recreate some of your projects

[@ToddKoch]

Awesome! I’m glad I’ve helped you that’s one of the main reasons I do this!

[@alanmurdock4319]

I like seeing blacksmithing done by hand with basic equipment. Although I still watch some channels that now have 10s of thousands of dollars worth of mills and lathes, I am not impressed by it. I want to see it done with a forge, hammer, and anvil. Especially since that's all that I have.

[@ToddKoch]

Thanks, I also like doing things with simple equipment, it is much more satisfying and skill-based in my opinion too!

[@Dx20xygen7]

Exactly man! Oftentimes I see a dude weld super fancy damascus steel outta some ball bearings and bdsm chains… only for him to then shape the blade and the tang with an angle grinder instead of forging and call it a day. Like, do they know what smithing means lmao

[@ToddKoch]

Yeah I am definitely a strong believer in forging to shape, it’s way more fun and true to form!

[@SchysCraftCo.]

Todd very nice job. That's really cool. Can't wait to see more videos soon. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work my friend. Forge On. Fab On. Weld On Keep Making. God bless.

[@ToddKoch]

Thanks, I’m proud of this one! Your support is much appreciated!

[@SchysCraftCo.]

@@ToddKoch your very welcome

[@Hussainaleabaadi]

Woooooooooooowwww

[@ToddKoch]

🙏🙏🙏

[@samjohnd451]

I can't wait to see how good you are a year from now. Keep it up brother and don't stop being a maker.

[@ToddKoch]

Thanks, one of the reasons I love video making is because it makes seeing progress so much easier!

[@benjaminhill5571]

Editing is so nice! You got a nice production value to your videos; especially for a one man band! Keep it up👍

[@ToddKoch]

Thanks, I appreciate it! I spend a lot of time editing these, and it means a lot for you to notice!

[@ydpandaibesi934]

🇮🇩👍👍👍

[@ToddKoch]

Thanks 🙏

[@user-lb6iq9ur7v]

I made a tauntaun knife but it broke in the heat treat

[@ToddKoch]

Sorry to hear about that! Better then breaking after all the handle work and finish work though haha!

[@ianseverydaylife5184]

👍👍👍👍👍🇵🇭

[@ToddKoch]

Thanks!

[@alanmurdock4319]

Looking at the comment I just made, it may not come off as a thumbs up, but that was intended as a thumbs up.

[@ToddKoch]

Don’t worry, I understood what you were saying and saw it as a compliment!

[@Dx20xygen7]

Damn you got the bevels just right, awesome job dude! Also very accurate with this… uuhh, chamfering on the spine? jimping? Nvm, it looks machined, very cool. I think it might have been more comfortable with a larger bolster/guard, but it would probably be not as easy to carry it around What do you use to cold blue ur knives? Nitric acid? Citric acid?

[@ToddKoch]

Thanks, I’ve been working on my bevel work so that’s good to hear! The filings on the spine are just decorative but they’re way fun to incorporate into blades. I agree, I wished I had made the guard a bit longer. I just used vinegar for bluing this blade, believe it or not! It has a low enough PH level to do the trick if you let it sit overnight.

[@99NOFX]

Cool

[@joeyisthebest0]

What did you darken the blade with?

[@ToddKoch]

I used vinegar, but any decently acidic mixture should work!

[@joeyisthebest0]

@@ToddKoch But I use vinegar to remove rust from blades, I didn’t know it darkens knifes

[@ToddKoch]

@joeyisthebest0 yep, acidic stuff is good for that, the reason the blade darkens is because it oxidizes slightly, making it get dark

[@joeyisthebest0]

@@ToddKoch I’ve seeen some people boil vinegar and put the knife in it while it’s hot, forcing at patina. Is this the same?

[@ToddKoch]

@joeyisthebest0 I would assume so, but I haven’t seen that so I can’t say for sure

[@nickking8317]

You’re better off with 01 or d2 not rebar for knives

[@ToddKoch]

This is true, I’ve just been using rebar for a few years now to get good at forging out knives and whatnot. I am in the process of transferring my knives over to w1 steel right now though!