Long sword VS Katana

*Throwing Gasoline of the Fire*

Wha ....What are you Talking About

Could it be said that The Katana Would be effective Though against any exposed Area the Plate would not be covering?

It would have serious issues vs chainmail, as that is a primary defense against slashing weapons and has been proven. Thrusts like with spears )and certain arrows) penetrated well, but test also showed that a heavy gambison very much helped here as well. The Katana was NOT an extremely effective thruster, though it was unmatched as a slashing weapon with all comparisons.

Also as far as craftsmanship, the fact is though, the folding process of the katana was done due to the high carbon content of japanese iron. The end result of this dedication is a sword of reasonable strength on the blunt side, but the cutting edge can be rather brittle, and the flat faces are prone to breaking if force meets it flush. The science behind the sword technique was often followint this fact, just as the technique developed to take advantage of amazing quick release from the scabard (most fights weren't long protracted battles, but a single or very few strokes).

I can go on and on with comparisons in great detail, but not sure its worth the extended discussion, unless its with open-minded audience

Yeah, whenever Hollywood feeds us another katana on katana battle where the two combatants are cutting and parrying constantly, edge on edge, one thought crosses my mind.: "damn, they are destroying those weapons", because katanas were so sharp that edge on edge contact would notch the blade horribly.

T

who remembers the awesomeness that was Bushido Blade, the only weapon combat video game that got it right

Guys, What this topic has become, even though very good debates and conversation, is what as known of in Indiana as "MelMing a Thread"/  I have been blamed for many thread de-rails  in our RP of KanaraK My character is named Mohammad- EL-Medique aka MELM


I am a master of debating issues first from one side then the other all meant to bring out more information and discussion. Thus I get blamed for "MelMing " a thread

Look up the word "Obfuscation"

In this thread I have seen many levels of knowledge , experience  personal feelings, emotions debates  and nobody has gotten offended.  For that I really like this debate.

So many times a person will think they are being ganged upon.  Don't see that here
Thanks


One of my son's is a Sixth Degree Black Belt and just demonstrated a Wakasashi that  he spent several hours polishing not sharpening. It is incredibly sharp. BUT as stated Slashing is it's primary purpose


Anyway just my 2 C' here

This debate has me thinking(yep, you can smell the wood burning.) If I may...

Every science class I have taken has taught me the lesson of testing all variables. So far, the only variable I have seen is when armor is introduced. However, let us consider some other conditions to debate the merit of these 2 fine weapons.
1) Combat verus multiple opponents
2) Prolong engagement, where the condition of the weapons slowly deteriorates
3) The weapon is in the hand of a novice with little to no combat experience

I would like to add I have no formal training in martial arts, so I do not have that much knowledge or experience to go on. I just hope that, with !SCIENCE!, we can come to a conclusion.

Furthermore, I was always curious about the merits of the Rapier vs the Katana, but thats another thread.

I guess the only way for this to be answered is on Mythbusters.