Is it true that a samurai sword can . . .?

Question

Is it true that a samurai sword can cut a man’s head clean off with a swing force similar to that of the average softball player? Or is this a myth? Please include any and all web resources that would be more informative. Please no BS answers

The smiths who created katana for the samurai are widely regarded as the finest sword makers in history. One of the biggest problems in making a sword is keeping it sharp. A weapon made with a hard metal will keep its edge, but will be brittle and prone to breaking. Japanese smiths solved this problem by making the core of the sword with a soft metal that wouldn't break. This core was then covered with layers of harder metals that were repeatedly folded and hammered until there were literally millions of layers of metal laminated together. The edge was so sharp that a skilled swordsman could slice a human in half with one blow.

http://www.stuffo.com/samurai4.htm

Thanks for nothing to the little girl who said, "if you are dumb enough to believe that."

Answer 1

I train in a 450 year-old school of Japanese swordsmanship. One of the techniques taught to students in our school is kaishaku which means "to assist". When a person commits seppuku (ritual suicide by disembowlment) they will have a second called a kaishakunin who will put them out of their misery before they can shame themselves by crying out in pain.

The stroke we are taught is designed to sever the neck with the exception of a small portion of skin at the front of the neck (to keep the head from rolling away in an undignified fashion). The strike is performed with the right hand, but the left hand steadies the sword at the end of the stroke. This strike has been used historically and is taught the same as it was at least 100 years ago.

The strike is not particularly hard although it is fast. My experience cutting mats using Japanese and western swords is similar. In class we say "the sword cuts, not the man". Which means that the sharp edge of the sword is supposed to slice the target. It's more important to have proper blade alignment and speed than it is to have power.

So the answer is technically: No. A sword can take a man's head off with much less force than a softball player uses to hit a ball if it is done correctly.

Answer 2

Any properly made and sharpened sword can take a head off with a single cut.

It's primarily a matter of aim and technique at this point.

As for the fellow who said that medieval knights relied on the weight of their blades, please note that the average 14th and 15th century longsword was a two-handed weapon that weighted no more than four pounds. What made them so deadly is in the way they were used. In all sorts of swordsmanship, let it be European Medieval or Japanese, the sword does the work and the swordsman just tells it where to go. Swords only move in certain ways and once they are in motion, they will "tell" the user where they want to go and it's up to the swordsman to guide it into the next move.

As for taking a head clean off, with a properly made longsword, while I could not cut a man in half, I could easily take a head off, or limbs, with next to no effort, if I have an open line to either or.

Answer 3

A machete can do that, so a katana certainly would. historically if the sword was folded correctly the sword would cut through the torso leaving the victim in two. a good sword was tested by cutting through a line of slaves, the more in cut in half the better the sword. the skill of the swordsman played a part in this too, as the momentum of the swing would only allow a certain depth of cut so they would have to move the sword in a slashing movement across the victims as they went through.

knights in england relied on their swords heavy nature to cut into the victim, but the samurai had sword fighting tuned into a deadly art.

babyangel, you have no life knowledge have you?

Answer 4

This may be true if the person was cut in half through the stomach horizontally, but not down through the skull, the vertebra of the spinal cord, the keel or breastbone, and the thick pelvic structure vertically, not to mention the cartilage, ligaments, tendons, musculature and the internal organs. The problem is not in the sharpness or hardness of the blade, it is in the strength of the wielder, and the fact that due to different densities of the bone structure the sword would be deflected away from centerline as it attempted to cleave down through the strong bone of the skull. Regardless, of course, the victim would be dead either way, but in all likelihood the blade would only penetrate as deep as the bottom of the brain cavity at best before becoming stuck in the lower skull.

Answer 5

r u talkin bout a odachi? i assume katana... it would b hard 2 find 1 that is made like they were bak in tha day but i heard stuff about they could cut a person in half cleanly... and if they didint (on a prisoner 4 a test) it wassint worthy

Answer 6

It is true. Google it and see a variety of sources.
The video is a clip of one chopping a bullet in half.

Answer 7

I haven't seen it demonstrated, but I have no doubt that it is possible. Please do not try this at home.