question about samauri swords>> cut you really cut someones are or leg off that easy with one?

Question

would you be able to cut someones arm completely off pretty easily or a head just curious

Answer 1

no few swords in history have ever been able to do such a thing, any stories you hear of people getting limbs hacked off it was almost certainly done by the swords much stronger cousin the axe, possibly by the falx, but rarely a sword, unless it was a ceremonial execution, and in execution the sword used bore much more resemblance to a cutlass than a katana and was targeted between the vertebrae not thru them so even then they didn't cut thru bone. a katana simply does not have the weight to make it through bone.

Answer 2

Swords can cut throught the body if made properly. A stainless steel sword might break (not a proper sword).
Just to build on some of the above posters. Main targets did not mean trying to cut a limb off. Bone can cause chips in a sword and such just as blocking blade to blade was not the best option on the battlefield. Great targets were the neck, wrists (outside or inside), legs, knees, etc... soft tissue targets.
Just some thoughts

Answer 3

Yes, especially when on considers the original purpose of tamegeshiri....which was sword cutting ability tested upon either living prisoners, or corpses.

Remember, when a Japanese daito cuts, it draws backwards on a cut instead of just hacking through like a European blade does. That's how it slices through what's in front of it. Now, that same principle applies with pushing cuts as well. The cutting edge meets it's object, and as it impacts, it's sliding on a slicing plane to cut through the object with applied friction on the cut.

Nowadays tamegeshiri is done by cutting rolled up mats of tatami (straw mats). It doesn't give nearly the same resistance as a body would....but it's still good to make sure you're cutting straight.

So, as another fellow mentioned above....if your taijutsu is correct in movement and the sword is moved with a solid stroke...they could quite easily sever the limbs or head of someone.

They can kill with shallow cuts as well, everyone seems to have an idea that all movements with a daito have to be some huge drawn-out stroke....which isn't even close to true.

Answer 4

Those of you maintaining that you can cut through bone with a sword;
Next time that you have a roast joint try and cut through the bone with a knife, in fact try it with an axe as well. Why do you think that butchers use saws to cut bone if it is so easy.
Incidentally, when people where beheaded with an axe in the tower of London, one cut with a very heavy axe was very rarely sufficient to remove the head, it usually took several blows.

Answer 5

Absolutely.

Many people are familiar with seppuku, or hara kiri, the ritual Japanese suicide. What many people don't know is that usually, a "second" would cut off the person's head after he slit his belly, to preserve his honor. (The idea was to kill him before the pain became too unbearable to remain stoic, since in ancient Japanese society, it was dishonorable to show pain.)

So, obviously, a samurai sword can cut off a head or a limb. Incidentally, so can European swords. If you have a blade long enough and sharp enough, you can cut through a limb or possibly even a torso with enough speed and strength.

Answer 6

Yes. In feudal times Japanese swords were actually tested by cutting the arms, legs, heads and torso of corpses or prisoners. Sometimes bodies would be stacked before the swordsman performed the test cuts. The results were sometimes then engraved on the sword's tang. It is not unusual to see something like "2 arms, 3 heads" engraved. The sword would then have a final touch-up polish and fitted with it's final handle and fittings.

Answer 7

Yes, most definitely. It requires a good sword and good technique. One of the things that most people don't realize is that the swordsman literally draws the sword in, towards himself as it chops so it is both chopping, sawing/cutting as it passes through. There are many examples of swordsmen cutting through binned, multiple stalks of rice as thick as your neck or thigh. On a good cut the weapon will pass so quickly and easily through it that the severed section continues to sit atop and not fall off.

Answer 8

actually, yes.

almost ANY sword can. AND swords have been known to cut through maille armor and bone.

here are some interesting test cutting vids from the ARMA website.

Actually one of the biggest causes of death on the battlefield during the "viking" years was having one's legs hacked off and they bleed out and die.

PICS:
most of these cuts were done on peices of meat with the bone in.

http://www.thearma.org/spotlight/TestCutting/Untitled-17.JPG

http://www.thearma.org/spotlight/TestCutting/Untitled-16.JPG

http://www.thearma.org/spotlight/TestCutting/Untitled-25.JPG

http://www.thearma.org/spotlight/TestCutting/New_Folder/sword_vs_hanging_cow3.JPG

It actually looks like at this seminar they cut the meat hanging from a tree on a rope. That also has more give than a resisting human leg or arm.

however getting a clean cut is a matter of technique.

Answer 9

A properly made samurai sword (folded steel, not sharpened steel) can cause extremely deep cuts by its own weight. With the proper technique, these swords can easily slice through any and every bone in the body. These swords are known to be the sharpest in the world.

Answer 10

Yes, check out the reference below... The film technically and scientifically demonstrates the ability of a katana to cut through a human limb (not a real one I might add)... Enjoy, great film!