Do you ever get tired of the samuri sword?

[Berethond]

I'm all for variety, but there is a reason why Katanas get so much attention. The craftsmenship behind them is pretty incredible. The amount of folding and all the detailed work required to make a Japanese Katana is pretty mind boggling when compared to most other swords. The difficulty in creating them is what makes them the stuff of legends. Even if a another sword were technically better, it probably didn't have nearly as much gravitas attached to its making. Its just another tool, as opposed to a Katanas great effort of engineering.

Of course, the reason Katanas require so much effort is because Japanese steel tended to be extremely low quality, and they needed great feats of engineering just for them to work properly. But in the realm of fiction, this just adds to the appeal.

No, they're just tools for hitting people. They're not even that hard to make. Really.

Damascus Steel is even harder to make and has, in my opinion, a better result.

Well, it turns out that modern carbon steel is easier to make and stronger than both.

Imagine that.

 

[ArchAngelKira]

I can't get tired of it, when I watch samerai jack

 

[Spartan X1]

Katanas are light long blades easily used by anyone, now I prefer the larger style of blade zweihanders and claymores they actually take some skill to use effectivly, Katanas just pop up everywhere because they're like the handguns of the sword world

 

[Spencer Petersen]

I am tired of it being this unstoppable blade of doom in fiction. It was made in a period before things like chain mail and high strength bows would have proven it worthless. A skilled French lancer would have dominated any Samurai of the day.

 

[jawakiller]

Katanas are light long blades easily used by anyone, now I prefer the larger style of blade zweihanders and claymores they actually take some skill to use effectivly, Katanas just pop up everywhere because they're like the handguns of the sword world

Totally ninja'd you on both those.

And Katanas require immense amounts of skill to use effectively. I should know, it took me over a year to learn how to fight with it and I'm nowhere near finishing. It sounds nerdy (and it is) but hey, it's a good hobby. And just because you know what end to grab, that doesn't make you an expert fighter. They are very amazing weapons but, I agree, they are over-used in movies. Still doesn't mean you can compare them to a handgun.

 

[godofallu]

Katanas are way too prevalent. I would take a good longsword over one anyday, and yes I have held both in my hands.

What can I say, the increased range is way worth the extra pound or two. Plus that extra weight + blade thickness adds an impact that really puts strain on a blockers arms.

 

[Oroboros]

A lot of misconceptions in this thread....

Swords aren't generally used to bite through armor or to deliver damage through concussive force (at least with the blade) European swords defeat European plate armor by stabbing at the weak points. There were far better weapons available for defeating plate through raw force, such as the horseman's pick and the warhammer. Swords can be used to 'smash' enemy armor, but this was typically done with the pommel or crossguard. Slashing at a breastplate with any sword is a good way to damage the edge, for a similar reason, it is best that you parry with the flat of the blade. A large part of european combat involved grappling and tripping, and there are a lot of maneuvers with halberds, crow's beaks etc for this purpose.

You can't cut through properly made chainmail with a katana or a european sword. It may be possible with a thrust, but it would still be difficult, and you would be more likely to stagger your opponent backward.

There is no real difference in quality between Japanese swords and European swords to say that one is better made then the other. Japanese swords are made in a manner that is somewhat reminiscent of pattern-welding techniques used by the vikings- a hard steel edge backed by blended steel and iron.

Yes the jumonji yari is a disturbing weapon (in the hands of an expert) but the elongated blade of a naginta is why I brought it up. The idea of combining a sword a and a staff is awesome and I wish it was more represented in society. Plus the original designers did a hell of a job on it. Way better than that European shit. But I totally hear what you're saying, the yari is a great weapon; its just really hard to learn how to wield it properly.

Just thinking about it for a sec... naginata = scary anti-cavalry weapon (one well-placed cut decapitates both horse and rider, possible? maybe). Though for European weapons, the halberd (set of polearms) can be a nasty piece of work (though the metalwork is inferior to far-Eastern forging, admittedly).

As for the last sentence, in that case, I must be one of the unluckiest fuckers in martial arts in so much that I'm acquainted with four very very very skilled spearmen, who, thanks to me deciding to get back into it in a big way, refuse to hesitate to hand my arse back to me on a plate on a weekly basis. I can beat them all unarmed, so it sorta evens out

The West made up for "inferior" metal by building anything as large as possible to give it the most weight and hitting power. Look at the Scottish Claymore as an example. Massive weapon that, if I recall correctly, had a tendency to break "superior" swords through the force of the blow. Then, after the Crusades, we developed significantly better metals thanks to people studying the art at Damascus, famous for some of the best metal works in the history of the world.

But if you want nasty European weapons, the long bow is by far the best example. Very long range, very accurate, and the British were some of the first people to really give their archers support and training and by God it showed at places like the Battle of Agincourt.

The Persian Immortals were highly trained archers, and they ran into a similar problem that the English Longbowmen ran into in the 100 yrs war, that being that longbows are only effective against the likes of the brigandine at near point blank range. However, the longbowmen were also equipped with much better armor and weapons then the ancient immortals were, roughly on par with what the knights they were fighting had available, and were able to fight the French Knights on almost equal footing in hand to hand when they had good positioning. Other examples of elite units of archers predating the longbowman would be the cretan archers used by alexander and the parthian horse archers, from which we get the phrase 'parthian shot'

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

Lets see a katana face off against that >
(If you dont get a good grasp of the swords size from the pic, its about that guys height, that guy is roughly 6ft 5)

But yes Im quite sick of all the fanbois bragging about how superior the katana is to every weapon ever made, its a fucking curved piece of metal

Of course that sword is also really only good for a single swing or two. Something about a sword that large either weighing a literal ton or being weak/light enough that it breaks early and often.

Thats in real life

In the manga the guy wielding it can somehow swing it around effortlessly

 

[Shirokurou]

There are plenty of great European and Arab swords to pick from, what is wrong with a Claymore or something. Geez./rant

Discuss.

Katanas are lighter than an average sword, so maybe that way it's more prevalent than a claymore.
But actually I see quite the share of zweihanders too.

 

[Tax_Document]

Vlad The Impaler's sword is much better than any Katana ever made.

 

[LoFr3Eq]

I liked Katana in Equilibrium.

Lightsabres FTW?

 

[blind_dead_mcjones]

yeah i grow tired of seeing them everywhere, along with all the misconceptions that come with it

i also grow tired of the misconceptions regarding european swords, like for example: that every european sword was a broadsword, or that they're all blunt, heavy and crudely made, nothing could be further from the truth

 

[Wintermoot]

Katana,s somehow have the image that it can cut through anything like a beam saber through butter.

 

[franconbean]

Katanas are way too prevalent but that's the thrill of the exotic for you, it's the same as all the Christian imagery in anime.

so this is just Anime imagery in western block busters? because that would make sense. I bet the Japanese are sick of seeing Christian imagery in anime too
I like to think that on a japanese forum somewhere right now, someone is complaining about just that.

 

[robincb]

you do realize that katanas are simply the best sword quality wise right, and that they are the best to fight with?

some facts

While with an european broadsword the metal is simply melted and then pounded into the shape of a sword, the steel of a katana is foded 20 times, making it abnormally durable and sharp. it has been said that the difference is so great that a katana can cut through other swords.

While katanas are long, their thin nature makes them quite light, allowing for fast swings, quick counters, and overall faster swordplay. You dont have to fight much against that pesky inertia that is always getting in your way

This sounds like a bit of a troll post, but I'm not sure so I'll respond anyway. Your facts are a bit squewed.
Firstly, there is no best sword, every sword has been made for a different specific threat, its like saying a 50 cal. baretta sniper is the best gun, there are multiple circumstances in war, and each sword is designed to be the best in a very specific set of criteria. ARMA agrees with me on this: http://www.thearma.org/essays/nobest.htm
Secondly, yes the way a katana was forged was a phenomenally complex art, and it involved folding the blade around 10-20 times, to create hundreds of thousands of layers in an individual blade, but this was necessary, because japanese iron ore was a very poor quality. The Vikings actually did a very similar process with their swords to rid their poor iron ore deposits of impurities, called pattern welding. The Europeans did not simply melt iron ore, and pound it into a sword shape, there were very complex forging methods with their metal as well, although because their iron ore was a better quality, they had less to do with it to make it battle ready. (The strongest steel, known as Damascus steel, was created in India and the middle east, we may never know how it was made, but it had carbon nanotubes running through it)
Finally the Katana is actually an average sword size, and smaller that most European Broadswords, certainly the 2 handed or hand and a half swords, it also is heavier pound for pound of metal because of the blade cross section. Broadswords were double edged, with a fuller in the middle, giving them a thin diamond shaped cross-section. Katanas had one sharp edge, and one thick edge, with no fuller, so they were heavier.
The katana was perfect for its job, single combat against another lightly armoured oppent with another katana, but it is not a 'supersword'.

Sir, i stand corrected, i must admit i haven't looked into it in such detail. I still think that a Katana is less cumbersome than a two handed sword, more manueverable (spelling?), and we all know that speed is very important in a battle, but i guess in a war speed doesnt matter as much

 

[evilstonermonkey]

I've always thought axes were cooler, and zweihanders are more impressive than katanas. On the other hand, whenever I play Conker's Bad Fur Day multiplayer I still use the katana for ever.