..::: HYBRID TANTO DESIGN :::..

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INTRODUCTION

The idea of a hybrid tanto design came from a further hybridation derived from my Dhakris concept.
The blade is made of forged carbon steel with a nice long tip (kissaki), with a spine thickness of 5 mm. I do not with a hamon to show, but rather a semi-gloss 600 to 800 grit belt finish plus a cork belt final finish.
Since both ethnic knives such as my Moro Keris display an incredible work at the hilt, what I did was to add a touch in the edged area near the blackened guard that is somehow similar to a Kukhri.
I'm using plain steel, through hardened, so as not to let anything interfere with the cut out near the hamachi, yet not wanting a glossy sword.
In a moment where repetition is becoming obssessive, my aim is to innovate by combining shapes and cultures as a response to massification. Note that there is a difference between innovation and invention. Perhaps you may wish to find by yourself the difference.
In all moments of the history of art and design of industrialized societies, people fell into the trap of the mass produced object, that is feverishly consumed by the victims of trend.
Marshall McLuhan said that Advertising is the greatest art form of the 20th. Century, the environmental strip tease of a world of abundance, and I would add to this my own saying: it is the source of all desires and the trap where the tiranny of redundance and repetition falls.
For all this, and because I felt like going against the massification in a way that suits my own taste, this design was born.

DRAWINGS

The dark areas of the edge near the hamachi corresponding to the cut outs are naturally the recessed areas.

NOTE: It is not mandatory to have the edge like that for it may pose problems for grinding. The blade can all be done with through hardening, no it is not a problem.
Satin finish with a cork belt. Very sharp.

I also speculated with the combination of California Buckeye burl and black ebony and decided for this combination. By choosing the saya to be made with burl, I'm allowing the burl to express itself in a longer length, about 17 inches at least.

This is an enlarged detail of the blade with the cut-outs. I prefer to pre-define the cut-outs. My eyes are not from an Indonesian or Philippino cultural background, so I am conscious that the depicted cuts will have to rely on the aesthetic absortion of the culture that is alien to me, but that does not deprive me from admiring this beautiful piece.

This finish will be definitely the choice. The handle should be full black horn or black dyed wood with nickel silver fittings and a blackened small guard protruding all around. The tsuka should be long.
The saya (scabbard) should be of California Buckeye Burl lined inside with thin felt and soaked with gun oil.