Had a cold steel zytel tanto, not sure what happened to it over the years. It's probably in a box or bin somewhere. It was pretty decent, they're pointless against hard objects but against soft.... It wouldn't be my first choice for self defense but if I needed something that wouldn't set off a metal detector it's an option.
For the most part they are stabbing weapons, simply because making one thin and sharp enough to slice means it gets dull the instant it hits anything harder than butter. Sure, you might get through a layer of cloth ONCE, but after that the edge isn't there to repeat it effectively. Stabbing though... works just fine. That's why many of them are triangular profiles and don't even bother to look like a knife. The Kerambit designs play on the leverage and profile to do some damage but it's not so much a slice as a stabbing arc.