How sharp can European Medieval swords be?

This is just a short rant that I made after getting fed up hearing about how dull and clumsy European Medieval swords are, compared to Japanese swords.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• sword
• medieval
• sbg
• cutting
• katana

[nambinhvu]

If you did that with a katana, your arm would have been skinned off XD jk Of course any sword can be super sharp, you can make a piece of sheet metal super sharp too, but the wideness and thickness of the blade, makes it harder to actually slice through things. European swords tend to be heavier for hacking, rather than slashing. Also, the weight of european swords is all towards the blade, so you can't really whack and stop the blade in mid air easily.

[InfernalSolo]

@nambinhvu Actually, even the thickest European swords had thinner blades than most katana. Katana have to have a thick, beefy cross section to protect against bending while European swords can rely on their heat treat to flex without bending. Even modern-made "lightsaber" katana are thicker along the spine (usually at least 7-8mm) than European blades (usually never more than 5-6mm), and these swords are unhistorically thin and light due to lack of niku to satisfy the modern JSA community.

[nambinhvu]

@InfernalSolo enlightening :) I wonder why they don't have any medieval sword cutting tatami mat videos, I'd like to see it just for fun. Do you know where I could find some? I searched a little, but didn't find any.

[InfernalSolo]

@nambinhvu Yeah, European medieval swords were actually about the same weight inch for inch of blade length as katana. The blades were thinner, but broader. However, both cultures paid attention to the blade's distal taper for proper harmonics and handling so both types of swords balanced quite similarly. However, because of their pommels, well-made European swords actually feel a bit less blade-heavy.

Try searching for videos done by NYHFA. Try "Cutting Practice NYHFA" (without quotes).

[TheUsrper1]

I'm glad someone said it. I just wish the katana trolls would listen. Maybe if we had more animes feature European swords people would believe they were unstoppable forces of nature. Move over, Ruruouni Kenshin. Here comes Escaflowne!

[InfernalSolo]

@TheUsrper1 No kidding. And to be honest, there are just as many hyped-up tales about western swords as well, but are largely ignored for some reason, possibly because they lack the "mystic east" element.

"...a rare and ancient sword named Hrunting.

The iron blade with its ill-boding patterns

had been tempered in blood. It had never failed

the hand of anyone who hefted it in battle,

anyone who had fought and faced the worst

in the gap of danger."

[SamGCampbell]

The longsword, a real man's razor :D

[mrDeeds151]

thats a pretty dull sword u got there!

[Sassabian]

@HereTheArtBegins Longsword is actually a very broad term. All Oakeshott's types of longswords (which pretty much cover every single type) can be used with one or two hands. I train with a longsword that weights close to 2kg and can do drills with it onehanded. Ofcourse it is much more diufficult but I'm not as strong as a warrior who trained all his life would have been.

So a longsword is more of a hand and a half style of sword. True twohanders were much longer and heavier.

[theoutremerlibrary]

infernalsolo Proper job ! Our 'civilization' needs to rediscover itself and recover not just a wealth of discarded skills but also integrity , honour ,honesty and COURAGE .

The are forces at work (not the devil or bloody illuminati) deliberately KEEPING our society ignorant , unmotivated (apathetic) and scared to be an INDIVIDUAL . Divide and deception are their tools of trade . Their motto("ByDeception")...

[peace36660]

@InfernalSolo Beowulf...just epic...

[locodriver107]

revel in it pal revel in it.

[gonefishingstudios]

lol i think that sword is much more 'elegant' than a katana , they all look the same anyway

[HereTheArtBegins]

@hipicacacigrafosauro

So, why does one of the wounding attacks in the German school, the "Schnitt" exist, where one rests the blade against a target and then uses the sharpness of the blade to cut?

You can only do that with a sharp sword. So, yes. Medieval swords /are/ sharp.

[HereTheArtBegins]

@luciferiexcelsil

"Longsword" is actually a two handed style of sword.

[Tyrhor]

Ok, nowdays it's not a problem to find the exact numbers and don!t trust to legends. but the fact is that the european longsword(both German and Italian style) were about 1300g heavy. It was because it is strait choping/stabing weapon. Katana, as primarly cutting weapon was about 2300g heavy. Just go and find out the answers or ask me by mesage and I can help you finding them...

[Protherium]

@hipicacacigrafosauro

""medieval swords are not sharp""

Erh.. I've seen its razor sharpness with my own eyes! Who should I believe, my own eyes or someone who says "medieval sword is the reverse in every sense of the Japanese katana"? Check out my videos, if more evidence is desired.