Katanas - Best sword ever or utter crap?

[Thorgalaeg]

Obviously Damascus steel kicks pretty much everyone, but you can't exactly use museum pieces to test

Current blacksmiths are getting a substitute almost as good as the original, good enough to cut any katana in little pieces in any case. BTW our metallurgy professor explained us that recent studies showed that original Damascus steel secret is to have an incredibly dislocated cristaline structure combined with... carbon nanotubes!

 

[aelf]

Uh, I'm surprised that so many people here find this a revelation. Anybody who knows anything about the subject can probably tell you that the katana was primarily made to be sharp because metal armor was not prevalent in Japan. European swords, on the other hand, had to contend with metal armor and thus tended to be made to be able to hack through it (which often required them to be heavier than the katana as well).

I don't think this is the first thread made on CFC on this very subject either.

 

[Benefactor]

I had heard most of this before, however; never try to tell someone dressed as a samurai at a fancy dress party that European swords were just as good (or better.) It's an exercise in futility.

 

[ArneHD]

Uh, I'm surprised that so many people here find this a revelation. Anybody who knows anything about the subject can probably tell you that the katana was primarily made to be sharp because metal armor was not prevalent in Japan. European swords, on the other hand, had to contend with metal armor and thus tended to be made to be able to hack through it (which often required them to be heavier than the katana as well).

I don't think this is the first thread made on CFC on this very subject either.

The thing is though that people are posting that "everyone knows that", a phrase which automatically raises alarm bells in my head. So we should probably consult an actual source before we jump to any conclusions about the use of swords, no matter how logical they may seem.

 

[Aroddo]

Obviously Damascus steel kicks pretty much everyone, but you can't exactly use museum pieces to test

Well, apparently damascene steel was high quality but it's most distinctive quality was how absolutely beautiful it looks. I haven't read any reports on how good or bad it performed in combat, but the smiths obviously knew their stuff.

@Quackers
hehe, obviously true.
but you know, katanas can kill indiana jones with the force of the ki-infused wind, y'know.

Uh, I'm surprised that so many people here find this a revelation. Anybody who knows anything about the subject can probably tell you that the katana was primarily made to be sharp because metal armor was not prevalent in Japan. ...

Strangely most people don't know about the facts, though.
They know Kill Bill, Soul Calibur, Samurai Showdown, and any number of animes which hype the superiority of the Katana to ridiculous heights. Try doing this thread on anime sites.

 

[Bugfatty300]

A katana doesn't actually have to touch a person to kill them. The pressure wave caused when a katana is swung is enought to cause massive internal hemorrhaging. I don't care how much armor you're are wearing.

So yeah, a samurai will pwn an armored European knight any day of the week. That's a fact.

 

[NetGear]

Strangely most people don't know about the facts, though.
They know Kill Bill, Soul Calibur, Samurai Showdown, and any number of animes which hype the superiority of the Katana to ridiculous heights. Try doing this thread on anime sites.

And people dont run out of bullets and jump over buildings in anime/movies. So its really no excuse for someone to claim they didnt realize katana cant cut thru concrete, or that smaller sword cant cut thru larger sword unless larger one is waaaaaay inferiorly crafted.

 

[aelf]

The thing is though that people are posting that "everyone knows that", a phrase which automatically raises alarm bells in my head. So we should probably consult an actual source before we jump to any conclusions about the use of swords, no matter how logical they may seem.

So we should also refer to an actual source, whatever that may be, before stating that the core of the earth is hot? People can't say that they know that for a fact unless they cite "an actual source"? I don't get your point.

Strangely most people don't know about the facts, though.
They know Kill Bill, Soul Calibur, Samurai Showdown, and any number of animes which hype the superiority of the Katana to ridiculous heights. Try doing this thread on anime sites.

I just wouldn't have expected the reactions so far. Heck, one guy is even gloating about it. It's just, uh, strange in more than one way.

 

[Whiskey_Lord]

Well, they are finely made swords for dueling, assuming the combatants are wearing little or no armor. Other than that, it's better to have something blunt and heavy against armored opponents.

 

[Aroddo]

Well, they are finely made swords for dueling, assuming the combatants are wearing little or no armor. Other than that, it's better to have something blunt and heavy against armored opponents.

all built in with the longsword

Link to video.

you obviously need some very good gloves if you want to do that

 

[Tarquelne]

Well, they are finely made swords for dueling, assuming the combatants are wearing little or no armor.

Which is why it'd be nice to see a comparison between European weapons with a similar purpose, like the (late-era) broadsword or (perhaps) the rapier.

 

[plarq]

carbon nanotubes!

You mean charcoal?

 

[MagisterCultuum]

No. The way they were forged caused much of the carbon content of the steel to arrange itself into elongated fullerenes.

 

[Yeekim]

all built in with the longsword

Screw longsword and give me that baby!

 

[Whiskey_Lord]

That's more along the lines of what I was thinking. War hammers, axes, maces, morning stars, flails etc. are all better against armored opponents than a blade.

 

[Maniacal]

Link to video.

Iirc. that was supposed to be a sword fight because Harrison Ford had dysentery Although this is much funnier.

 

[Tani Coyote]

Huh. Actually pretty revealing, but it makes sense.

In the Zombie Survival Guide, the katana is recommended as a good weapon. Which it would indeed be against unarmored foes.

Great OP, though.

Excellent against a common person, but in a military situation it has little usefulness. (Then again that's how most swords are anyway)

 

[Winner]

BTW our metallurgy professor explained us that recent studies showed that original Damascus steel secret is to have an incredibly dislocated cristaline structure combined with... carbon nanotubes!

Some carbon nanotubes, which were probably a side effect of the manufacturing process. And it's still not a proven explanation, AFAIK they haven't tested a large enough sample.

In any case, today's steel alloys are allegedly better (not by much, but better). It's only by the standards of the age that Damascus steel was so good.

 

[aronnax]

Current blacksmiths are getting a substitute almost as good as the original, good enough to cut any katana in little pieces in any case. BTW our metallurgy professor explained us that recent studies showed that original Damascus steel secret is to have an incredibly dislocated cristaline structure combined with... carbon nanotubes!

I totally like the idea of people of the past unlocking a secret that we in all our modern technological efforts, cannot figure out how they did it.

 

[Winner]

I totally like the idea of people of the past unlocking a secret that we in all our modern technological efforts, cannot figure out how they did it.

It would be far more impressive if they had any notion whatsoever WHY their stuff worked