Would you want a Katana?

[Orcus The Ultimate]

I'd like to have a Katana in my bedroom. I want to learn how to use it properly, buy a nice one and leave it in my room[footnote]hidden of course[/footnote] so I would have something to defend myself with if Ninja's or CIA thugs[footnote][small]or zombies for that matter[/small][/footnote] came after me for some reason.

A more serious answer to my own question is that I would like a Katana because I've always admired them and swords in general. I wouldn't pull it out very often and I'd, well, just think it'd be awesome to have one. With my current budget I will not be able to afford one anytime soon.

Would you want a Katana? Why?

My brother already have one and with 2 Bokken (wood swords) to practice...

 

[The Grim Ace]

Any sword would definitely be great, definitely a katana just for the badass look. Like the OP, however, I am far away, financially, from owning one for awhile.

 

[Lyri]

Katana? No.

But a fancy desk? Now you're talking. I want one of those big partner's desks that is massive and made out of like a tonne of mahogany or oak. Awesome.

Probably about as useful as a sword in a real home invasion scenario too.

Every baller knows mahogany is the only way to roll, brah.

 

[General BrEeZy]

have one XD my sister gave it to me for christmas however many years ago...but i got a claymore for my birthday this year, and thats kinda taken the "Favorite" slot to me. I'm very well armed in close quarters, with the katana, claymore, another full-size sword shaped like a dragon, a short sword in the same design, a dagger in that shape, a "rambo" knife with a sawtooth edge and a huge Bowie knife (i.e. crocodile dundee's kife)....all readily available in my room =]

that, and the katana is WAY freaking cooler than the katana armor in halo 3...

 

[BogComm]

Cheness Cutlery -
http://www.chenessinc.com/

Cold Steel -
http://www.coldsteel.com/swords.html

Good swords for a decent price.

The Grosse Messer is good if you have the hand/arm strength. It's a brute of a sword: durable, sharp, and heavy enough to do some serious undead or bad guy cleaving. My personal favorite for home defense.

For mobility on the road, I'd definitely go with a katana. They're lighter, more agile, and just as deadly.

 

[capin Rob]

OF COURSE. I know someone who was like 2 of them.

 

[Radeonx]

I already own 2.
And a cane sword, a bo staff, a halberd, a pair of nunchucks, multiple throwing stars, and butterfly knives.

 

[New York Patrick]

No. I would want two, so I can kill vampires with one hand, and pirates with the other.

 

[Direwolf750]

No. I am not a japanophile even though I like some anime and all the progress the japanese made in fields of science and technology particularly cybernetics and electronics of all sorts because I'm very much into that kind of thing.

A katana is just a glorified sword. There's nothing magical about it. The reason the Japanese had to develop such complicated forging methods is because they had no fucking metal in the first place, no, of course, being a hyperbole for "very little". They aren't the only culture to use complicated folding methods for making weaponry. Arabs did it. Russians did it. And so on. It's just that when you have as much metal as most Europe, you don't have to bother. The quality will be about the same, and you wouldn't need overly complicated techniques that take years to learn and perfect for a weapon that's going to be broken and discarded at some point.

So the whole samurai thing in terms of attachment to their often ancestral swords is mainly coming from lack of resources.

Okay, that was a pointless rant. Katana is just a sword. It's illegal, sadly, to own a sword without special permits here in Canada. And even if it was legal, I wouldn't bother. I've done sword classes when I was into Martial arts - it's fun, sure, practical, not very much. Especially not in your average everyday life. A sword is not all that efficient for self-defense when the attacker might have a gun. Sure, there's intimidation, and that's probably of some value, but any weapon will do - and if it doesn't work, you're the one getting shot. Or if you end up killing the guy, you're the one getting hit with manslaughter charge, because there's only this much violence you can exert in self-defense given most laws. Not even in the most stereotypically redneck state in the USA (choose your own, I don't know too many states) it would be okay to shoot to kill someone for simply stepping on your lawn without any permission.

So it's value in sense of self-defense is not all that great. It's a fucking sword, it's hard to use it to non-lethally take down possible aggressors and killing people even in self-defense situations might get you in trouble with the law in some cases. And, again, it won't stop you from being shot.

If I ever got the urge to be a serial killer, a katana would still not be my choice. It's a huge fucking sword. A good weapon is a weapon you can conceal. A knife is concealable. A gun is concealable. A shotgun is concealable. A fucking meter-long sword (yeah, they come in different sizes, but that's a reasonable average) is NOT.

So, it's a definite "NO". I do not appreciate much of traditional Japanese - or any, for that matter, culture, so that part to owning a katana is out of the question. I do not currently practice any martial arts - and if I did, I'd try kickboxing this time. Even if I were to do any weapon martial arts, I would not pick a sword. I'd pick a staff, or those kick-ass sticks. Definitely not nunchucks, I've seen too many people bash their balls with them, and they, in general, are of questionable use aside from impressive showmanship (and bruised balls).

Plus I'm by no means rich and still trying to fund my college education, and a real sword - a katana or not, will cost in the range of a few thousands as a minimum reaching pretty unbelievable prices at the maximum. Professional blacksmiths aren't cheap, and that shitty sword you picked up from some uni arts student taking blacksmithing is by no means of a comparable quality with a professional forged sword.

Neither is that Frostmourne replica on your wall. Sorry.

If you're going to practice swordmanship of any kind, by all means, go for it. It's an expensive hobby, it's fun - I've done only very little weapons stuff when I was doing martial arts, and it's definitely exciting even if you're using sticks and bokkens. And you will be, because nobody's going to let you train with an actual fucking sword as a starter. Even if you do fencing with those light-weight rapiers, or whatever they are, they still wear a crapload of armor and don't use sharpened swords... So, uh, yeah.

It's a cool hobby, but you should consider all the costs - the money, the time, and the realization that practically every fight scene you've ever seen is heavily choreographed and unrealistic performance. Skillful, yes. Resembling reality? No.

Edit: And for sheer killing purposes, as if I were stolen away from home and forced to fight in a thunderdome of some kind, I'd still NOT pick a sword. It takes long to be effective at it. A spear is the best bet, there's a reason why it's been among some of the most used weapons everywhere. Good reach, thrusting attacks which are harder to block then swings, and can be used for more domestic purposes... Such as locating the entrance to the Tomb of Horrors.

Firstly, the katana is a much more efficient killing weapon than a European broadsword, or any large straight edged blade, because of its curve, the two kinds of steel used to make it, and it is as a general rule, also a work of art. The curve allows a better cutting motion, allowing you to cut all the way through without it getting stuck (ideally). The two kinds of steel are too complicated to describe here, look for yourself, and each blade is a work of art (assuming its a REAL katana).

Each one was crafted individually for the samurai and were both valuable and a mark of status. The blade was part of who you and your family were, not because of resources, but the blade was your family's sword, and heirloom, and not something replaceable. The treatment to make the katana shatters or warps many blades, so making one was a very in-depth and time consuming.

Finally, spears were used by so many cultures because they were useful against cavalry, and were cheap to mass produce for all the canon fodder they were sending out. Unless you are talking about another pole-arm weapon, the plain spear was not exactly a great military feat.

 

[Shock and Awe]

Why wouldn't I? Katanas are the best swords there are(this is proven by science). Though I would never want to pay for one, since real ones are expensive as hell, plus I doubt I could properly maintain it. I would rather keep a rifle instead, much more effective.

 

[Tartarga]

Hell yeah I would buy a katana. Owning one would bring me one step closer to being a ninja.

 

[Blindswordmaster]

Only if it's a carbon steel and battle ready model. If I'm going to buy a weapon I'm going to use it...to practice and hone my self-defense skills.

 

[Direwolf750]

Hell yeah I would buy a katana. Owning one would bring me one step closer to being a ninja.

They used ninjato, straight edged blades, not katana. Samurai used katana.

 

[Joshimodo]

I already have a Katana and Wakizashi. Live blades too. They're beautiful.

 

[Direwolf750]

Only if it's a carbon steel and battle ready model. If I'm going to buy a weapon I'm going to use it...to practice and hone my self-defense skills.

...You CAN'T have non-carbon steel, the carbon is what makes it steel...

 

[Blindswordmaster]

Only if it's a carbon steel and battle ready model. If I'm going to buy a weapon I'm going to use it...to practice and hone my self-defense skills.

...You CAN'T have non-carbon steel, the carbon is what makes it steel...

Sorry, forgot to put high carbon steel.

 

[Mark Hardigan]

I already own a katana. Two, actually. One is a replica of a masamune blade that I just like to look at and every once in a while take out and the other is an authentic blade I bought. Both I bought because I've studied Shotokan, Kendo and Iaido. Although guns are easier when personal protection is on the line.

I should clarify: The 'authentic' blade is not a true authentic japanese blade as very few can afford that. But it is a very high quality blade that was made in the same exact manner as an authentic blade would be. It was made in the US, however.

Unless the steel was made by master steel smith who spent 3 days constantly tending their forge without sleep, and then breaking open their clay forge afterward to send it to the smith, who then makes the blade, then cools it with a process that causes many blades to break, then gives the unfinished blade to a person whose job is solely the sharpening and polishing of the blade (over 20 different sharpening stones are necessary), it was not made in the "authentic" manner.

I cannot claim that it was truly made in this manner as I did not witness the forging, but I can claim that I was told it was made in this manner. And since the blade cost me all the money I had saved up for almost four years (close to 7 grand) I would have to guess that I would be quite cross if I was lied to. Regardless, however, my master has a true authentic blade that was made in japan (about a decade ago now, I believe) and except for a few different artistic touches, the performance of both blades are nearly identical. So even if the blade wasn't forged in the exact same manner as his was, I would vouch that it is the same quality. But to be perfectly honest, it's perfectly plausible, however unlikely, that the sword smith lied to me.