Why do people think a Katana is Great?

Question

I know it could hack a limb off of an unarmoured opponent, but it's useless against a heavily armoured foe, a stronger, thicker german sword, would do the job against an armoured foe, or a Mace or Warhammer, And Axes can Punch a hole through armour. The mideivel swords started out sharp, but became dull later in time because it's more effective. So the katana is just primitive in design. is it just the Anime warping kids minds? it's not a lightsaber, it's just a sharp sword, that can Break easily.

The Katana, is not much lighter than most other swords, that is a common misconception, a Vikings sword is Lighting than a Katana...................... and you give speed to much credit, the katana wielder would hit an armoured foe, and it would do nothing, then he'd be Crushed by whoever was in the armour. in armour you could Beat a samurai hand to hand. the sword is lame against armour, GREAT Against unarmoured, but as far as metal to metal, that thing is Trash.

Lighting=Lighter

Answer 1

If I might ad my own two cents...

The katana is a good weapon against the enemies it was created to combat. Over in Japan, the armored warriors were clad in at best chain mail, usually weaker materials than that. European weapons, such as longswords, claymore, maces and whatnot, was designed to fight agains opponents in full plate armor, and as such they have a much greater armor penetration than the katana. The katana simply didn't need to be able to pierce plate armor, and it wasn't designed to do that.

The katana's curved edge also is effective in reducing recoil from striking armor, which made the person using it capable of getting more hits in less time than european swords, albeit with less armor penetration.

Answer 2

From several book i read, It's quite a miss conception that katana was used heavily against a fully armoured opponents. Katana was never meant as a main weapon against a fully armoured opponents.

In the past, Japanese swordsmith technology was quite advanced, thus their sword usually more superior than average japanese armour (which usually only lightly covered part of the body). When finally japanese armour reach more advanced development (especially after they imported the armour technology from portugese), the gun had already slowly replace sword as primary weapon. In fact during Sengoku period most samurai already equiped their troop with guns.

What make katana great, acctually because katana offer best ballance between thrust and slicing movement

Answer 3

The folding of steel give the Katana great strength. As another answerer noted, most Katanas for sale aren't made by a true Japanese swordsmith. These men take almost three months to make one sword. They have been known to slice through a traditional samurai helmet hundreds of years ago. I think you are seriously underestimating the Katana.

Answer 4

The Japanese Katana has a different style of usage for the fully armored samurai - they use a lot more thrusting techniques.

So it isn't the sword but the style which determines its effeciency. The Japanese Katana is still one of the best swords ever made and one of the finest examples of metalurgy in human history.

Answer 5

It has much to do with the extremely hard and sharp edge that the best japanese swords are made with, making them quite effective against anything that didn't have nearly equal or greater hardness such as steel armor or another steel sword which would quickly chip the edge. Of course, spears and thrusting techniques were always in vogue against armored opponents. That is reflected in Iaido, where one of the foremost principles is that the sword is made for cutting and really stinks for blocking over the course of a long military campaign. Japan is a place where too many people have fought over too little land for a long time while there was enough stability to pass down sword-making techniques. Because of the scarcity of iron in Japan and the special status of the Samurai as well as the swords themselves, swords were generally made with a great deal of expertise and precision. The oldest Japanese swords were actually straight swords, not so different from a gladius. The japanese sword has evolved over the centuries according to the needs of warfare and skills of sword smiths at the time. The ones you can usually buy in stores for a low price are not made by an actual Japanese sword smith.

Answer 6

Any real swordsman knows a katana is slower than a greatsword. You can use spear stance and techniques. Greatswords have a ricasso. A ricasso is a part of the blade. When holding the ricasso, your speed is raised, so does your damage, Want a sword that outlives yourself? Wrap the ricasso, guard, handle, and pommel with many layers of hockey grip tape.

Answer 7

Steel armour would be highly effective, not only that maile, also known as chain mail as well as the padding underneath. Longswords and hand and a half where not primarily cutting weapons, mostly they where used to thrust into the exposed parts of the armour. Japanese armour lacked steel plates like Milanese or other variants. Katanas were great for killing Japanese not European plated knights and the like.

Answer 8

you are comparing the Katana with other swords, so of course it may fall short. the Japanese are not 6'4" giants able to swing great swords. any weapon is built on its environment and culture.

when someone pulls out a Katana the fear factor kicks in and you run. seen it at a party that went very wrong. bottom line is that you are comparing the katana to weapons and armor that it wasnt built for. like saying a F-1 racing car is crap of road...

they are built for their conditions.

Answer 9

To my understanding a katana was designed for assasins who would be fighting in up close situations like indoors. When fighting in this type of situation you do not want a longer sword that could get stuck in a wall or a long sword where you needed a lot of room to operate it. It is for close range attacks like say when a ninja sneaks into your home at night to kill you and not necessarily for the battlefield.

Answer 10

Mace or war hammer more likely but not a "German Sword" if anything the weight might be used as a bludgeon, but that's not what they are made for. And contrary to what you think most samurai wore heavy armor while not metal just as effective and labored to make.