Reinforcing the beautiful myths about katanas

[Darklord Rooke]

 

So, part 1 in lovingly reinforcing the myths about the katana:

- They're 2 handed weapons yet they're incredibly short. They don't have the reach of a longsword, and the longsword is a fairly average sized sword, so they have nowhere near the reach of some of the bigger swords. In fact, the blade on a katana is the same (and is in fact shorter) than some one handed swords, despite being a 2 handed weapon.

- They're heavy. Katanas have a wedge on the back which most other swords don't have, and this means the blade is not a light one. Pick up a middle eastern sword, or a European sword, and you'll see they're quite thin. Pick up a katana and you'll see the back is quite fat. This adds weight.

- The weight is in a weird spot. Obviously if you have a fatter blade you'll have more weight in your sword, BUT it also means you have more weight in the blade part of the sword. That makes it feel even heavier. European swords have more weight near the hand, making it feel lighter. Here's an exercise for people - pick up a 4 to 5 foot long pole, one with the weight far away from you, and one with the weight near the hand, and think about the difference.

Anyway, people wanted a topic made to reinforce and prove the superiority of the katana over any other sword, so I thought I'd oblige  

[Down]

Katana are from the land of glorious Yamato whose superior bunka (tl note: bunka means culture) the mere likes of you westerners can't even begin to understand. They are superior weapons made of superior metal folded over a thousand times by the masterful nippon artisans. They are wielded by the samurai, whose code of budou, martial arts and philosophy of mono no aware far surpass the petty warriors of the west. If you can't recognize the superiority of katanas you're nothing but a baka gaijin.

[Nosebleed]

It's like those endless discussions over Kylo Ren's lightsaber from Star Wars VII all over again.

Obviously the superior Japanese weapon is the naginata, you ninjaboos.

[Clephas]

... I like a good battle axe, falchions, and halberds, so I don't count as one of the exclusionary types, lol.

Edit: Actually, there is no pointed or edged weapon I don't like... *drools*

That said, I'm a weaboo... but my favorite weapon is actually the naginata.

[Eclipsed]

All I remember is that Samurai Jack's Tremendous Horse Cutting technique couldn't destroy the Scotsman's sword, so I object!
 

 

[Deep Blue]

nothing can beat this swords

 

 

[darknessintheway]

Damnit, now I wanna learn how to use a sword (properly). Actually, give me a reaper scythe. Those are better *drools*. 

[Clephas]

I tend to prefer long weapons like spears and halberds... large scythes aren't really useful as weapons (too top-heavy for their length). 

[Flutterz]

I prefer this kind of Japanese sword

[BookwormOtaku]

I may be remembering this wrong, but if I recall in the movie Seven Samurai Kikuchiyo had this  longer than average katana which he could use. Would that even be usable in real life if the regular sized ones are so heavy?

[Deep Blue]

I'm impressed as how nobody talked about the scimitar or the gladius knowing how big part of the history were in every single aspect.

43 minutes ago, Zenophilious said:

Lightning Zweihander in Dark Souls is fun 

See, Rooke, I bought a katana replica when I was 12, so I have the experience and the knowledge to tell you that you are absolutely wrong.  Katanas are the ultimate sword type, with a coolness level that's exactly equal to their usefulness in battle.  A katana user would definitely win against 3 d-bags with broadswords every time because glorious Nippon steel will never fail.  A few quick Google searches has confirmed everything I've said as pure facts.

it is  sadly all of the two handed swords on dark souls are misused  

[Darklord Rooke]

30 minutes ago, BookwormOtaku said:

I may be remembering this wrong, but if I recall in the movie Seven Samurai Kikuchiyo had this  longer than average katana which he could use. Would that even be usable in real life if the regular sized ones are so heavy?

They're not heavy, just heavy for their size when compared with other swords. Longswords (not ceremonial) are between half a foot to a foot longer, but weigh about the same. 

35 minutes ago, Zenophilious said:

See, Rooke, I bought a katana replica when I was 12, so I have the experience and the knowledge to tell you that you are absolutely wrong.  

I always wondered what happened to your left foot...

[Clephas]

My katana is based off of the Edo-era design, which was post-body-armor... so it is actually lighter than the kazu-uchi that were made in large numbers during the Sengoku era.  'kazu-uchi' basically means 'forged in numbers' and it generally meant that it was made in a workshop rather than in a traditional blacksmith's forge.  Generally speaking, they were cheap iron edges folded over a bronze core, and they were both heavier (deliberately so) and more fragile than the one-off blacksmith-made types.  In an era when anybody willing to fight could become a samurai if they survived long enough, these were the blades of choice, since they were cheap enough for clan lords to hand them out to anyone who displayed even a small amount of talent or skill.

[Zidan209]

Well, imagine a samurai, how masterful they are in battles with the legendary katanas. What would happen if they were using the "better" longswords and broadswords?

[Soulless Watcher]

I'm more of a Gladius person myself. The sword that conquered the ancient western world. It was easy to make, use, maintain, and it was cheap to manufacture. Perhaps not the best sword of all time, but one of the best practical swords in human history.

[Clephas]

It was the spear and the shield that conquered the ancient western world...  to be specific, the idea of organized tactical formations such as the phalanx in combination with the easiest possible weapon combination in existence to learn.  

[Deep Blue]

now we need to talk about the mongols and their tactics with the bow   (yes the roman empire can suck a nut against them)

[Abyssal Monkey]

On 1/17/2016 at 6:42 PM, darknessintheway said:

Damnit, now I wanna learn how to use a sword (properly). Actually, give me a reaper scythe. Those are better *drools*. 

 

On 1/17/2016 at 6:53 PM, Clephas said:

I tend to prefer long weapons like spears and halberds... large scythes aren't really useful as weapons (too top-heavy for their length). 

The problem is scythes are completely impractical as weapons.  When they were used, they had the blade turned upright akin to a spear.  Dark Souls and many other medium seeming manage to perpetuate this terrible idea that they are good for slashing like a sword.  Dark Souls scythe for all purposes is a staff with a nail offset on an end: you either whack them with the stick and use it as a blunt weapon, or you shove the pointy part through them.  Have you even thought for a moment how a scythe is used in farming?  In many ways, you would use a scythe like a back handed dagger than a sword.

Please get your hopes and dreams ruined, and start thinking about practical weapons, like metal tipped pens.  I can guarantee 10 minutes in pondering the best way to stab someone with the items in your pocket will be more useful than learning/yearning to wield medieval weaponry.

[Clephas]

If you want a tool that made a decent weapon, the kunai, the shotel, and the flail are three obvious ones.

[darknessintheway]

16 hours ago, Abyssal Monkey said:

Please get your hopes and dreams ruined, and start thinking about practical weapons, like metal tipped pens.  I can guarantee 10 minutes in pondering the best way to stab someone with the items in your pocket will be more useful than learning/yearning to wield medieval weaponry.

Yeaaaahhh, impractical things are my forte. Like making waterdrop sounds with my cheeks or even fainting on will. Reaper scythes are definitely useless unless the [enemy] person is unarmed. For a person like me, whose strength is not a  defining characteristic, wielding a scythe would be stupid. Even I prefer a nice old dagger in the end.

[CeruleanGamer]

Swords? Bitches please. Those swords cant do anything once the wielder gets shot on the head... lol Rifles/guns changed modern warfare, not those worthless scraps of metal.

[DarkZedge]

Katanas and Wakizashis are by far my favorite sword and short sword...I have one of each but they're not great quality..bought them on a whim and are mostly decorative though i could sharpen them

[Darklord Rooke]

Another point to note: Why do we idolise katana when the katana was a samurai's THIRD choice of weapon on the battlefield? They'd go for their bow, they'd go for their spear, then they'd go for their katana.

And this is a critical point. Swords were developed in Europe to be a knight's primary form of weapon. They CAN use a spear, but they can just as feasibly wield a greatsword. There was a sword for any different purpose. "Oh my, my enemy's in armour, well I'll go with a greatsword with a whopping great point." Alternatively "oh my, my opponent wants me to duel with him one-on-one unarmoured. Nothing my trusty rapier can't defend against." Whereas katanas could only fight a certain kind of opponent ... and not on horseback ... and not if other specific conditions weren't met. It's very limited. Furthermore, because it was a hard sword, and not a soft sword like in Europe, it can crack and chip easily if hitting a surface that wasn't soft (that is, wasn't flesh or leather.)

So where did these myths about katanas come from? They aren't light, they don't stab very well, they're short, they're brittle, they're not very balanced, they don't guard very well, they don't have much variety due to being single bladed, they weren't the first choice of weapon on the battlefield ... so, wouldn't you prefer a trusty longsword instead?  

 

 

Vs

 

Disclaimer: These pictures are inserted by an unbiased and fair soul.

[Fred the Barber]

Given the alternatives above, I'd probably pick Baz Luhrmann's "trusty Longsword": http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Romeo_%2B_Juliet#Techno_Arms_MAG-7M1

[CeruleanGamer]

On 1/31/2016 at 3:39 PM, Rooke said:

Another point to note: Why do we idolise katana when the katana was a samurai's THIRD choice of weapon on the battlefield? They'd go for their bow, they'd go for their spear, then they'd go for their katana.

And this is a critical point. Swords were developed in Europe to be a knight's primary form of weapon. They CAN use a spear, but they can just as feasibly wield a greatsword. There was a sword for any different purpose. "Oh my, my enemy's in armour, well I'll go with a greatsword with a whopping great point." Alternatively "oh my, my opponent wants me to duel with him one-on-one unarmoured. Nothing my trusty rapier can't defend against." Whereas katanas could only fight a certain kind of opponent ... and not on horseback ... and not if other specific conditions weren't met. It's very limited. Furthermore, because it was a hard sword, and not a soft sword like in Europe, it can crack and chip easily if hitting a surface that wasn't soft (that is, wasn't flesh or leather.)

So where did these myths about katanas come from? They aren't light, they don't stab very well, they're short, they're brittle, they're not very balanced, they don't guard very well, they don't have much variety due to being single bladed, they weren't the first choice of weapon on the battlefield ... so, wouldn't you prefer a trusty longsword instead?  

 

 

Vs

 

Disclaimer: These pictures are inserted by an unbiased and fair soul.

I prefer a Gladius if I wanted a sword. I like having mobility as well as a free arm to dual wield something or carry a shield.