Katana???

[DDThreeSocks]

I am new to this site but it has to be to coolest site on the planet. I read the melee weapons aritical and I happen to disagree with the idea of a katana as a weapon. Before I found this site my good friend and I have been planning our infestation tactics and our melee weapon of choice is a katana. I believe that when push comes to shove in a close proximity, and with a prepared sharp enough katana, damage would be great. I would like to hear your thoughts about this fantasic ancient weapon as a defense against the undead.

Light, agial and it fits into small spaces.

[Absit]

The only reason a katana is said to be a bad weapon is because it requires EXTENSIVE training to become nearly as effective as a baseball bat or similar blunt weapon. However once a VERY HIGH level of training has been achieved with a katana it's far superior to those weapons. Most people just don't have the time to dedicate to such study, and if they do, they train with more practical weapons such as firearms. Katanas are great with a LOT of training, but there are better options for such training (if available).

[Ed]

Absit pretty such summed it up. A katana is not a weapon you can just pick up and use like a bat or club. I trained in how to weild a katana for a short time, and believe me you may take down a zombie, but you're just as likely to injure yourself or someone else [who's still living] in the process. And small spaces? Katana's are about 3-4 ft. long and swinging that thing around properly cannot be done in a small space.

[Absit]

A good point with tight places. There's a reason the samurai wore a short sword (wakizashi) as well as their katana(s). A katana in a hallway is not an effective weapon, the wakizashi is much more deadly in small spaces because angles of attack aren't as limited.

[DDThreeSocks]

you both made good points to which i agree with. I can see the downfalls to this weapon and agree to your points. I have only discussed the enevitable with one friend of mine and i will relay this info to him, the katana was our first idea but this site has opened many door. I do have another question, If I as a beginning student did want to learn more about swordplay what would be your suggestions... I do live in the mid west more specifically St. Louis, MO. I have looked for schools in the area and I guess I'm a little clueless but I can't find someplace to get started ......Again thanks for the input and i appreciate the replies.

[Absit]

Study Kenjutsu/Kendo and Iaijutsu/Iaido. I studied these two personally. With those two arts you'll be quite good. I'm not aware of any schools local to you, you're on your own for that. Good luck.

[Orson]

A crowbar/wonderbar/shovel/hammer/almost any other large tool, would work better and have more uses.

[Brash]

Maybe it's just a byproduct of yob culture but in a confined space I'd rather have a half brick than a katana. By the time you've drawn and got it pointing 'front towards enemy' I would be up to my elbows in zombies.

[ghostface]

I am new to this site but it has to be to coolest site on the planet. I read the melee weapons aritical and I happen to disagree with the idea of a katana as a weapon. Before I found this site my good friend and I have been planning our infestation tactics and our melee weapon of choice is a katana. I believe that when push comes to shove in a close proximity, and with a prepared sharp enough katana, damage would be great. I would like to hear your thoughts about this fantasic ancient weapon as a defense against the undead.

Light, agial and it fits into small spaces.

How old are, if you don't mind my asking?

[AEnemia]

Maybe it's just a byproduct of yob culture but in a confined space I'd rather have a half brick than a katana. By the time you've drawn and got it pointing 'front towards enemy' I would be up to my elbows in zombies.

123.


Anyhow, welcome to the site.

Myself, I have to vote "no" on Katanas, for various reasons, but the main one being that you're just better off with a crowbar/cricket or baseball bat/lead pipe/brick/ect.

[mr. right-wing]

.It's true, I've been practicing with them in my martial art for 5 years, and I would still take a Kukri. This is partly due to their size, and I don't feel I have enough training with them yet. However, they do look cool when slung on your hip

[Mr B10nd3]

Cheap katanas just won't cut it. You could buy a saturday night special and more ammo than you would ever want to need for the money it takes to buy a halfway effective katana. I'd reccomend the kukri as a lightweight, cheaper, more durable and easier to use alternative to the katana.

http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-7333098713883/index.html

[nicklefish]

Crobars are good too...

[Greig]

Me and a friend were once talking about katana, and we came to the conclusion that, although a properly made katana hardly ever gets dull and is made of strong steel and is curved for strength, a big chunk of sharpened metal is just less likely to break and [although you need to shapren it] is therefore better.

So what about a normal sword, or a machete?

[Joe Ghoul]

It sounds like you've got this whole zombie thing figured out.

On a side note, why would a katana not get dull?

[Tomcat1066]

Me and a friend were once talking about katana, and we came to the conclusion that, although a properly made katana hardly ever gets dull and is made of strong steel and is curved for strength, a big chunk of sharpened metal is just less likely to break and [although you need to shapren it] is therefore better.

So what about a normal sword, or a machete?

A true and accurately made katana has a pretty high carbon content. It gets really sharp, but can get dull pretty quick. Where did you get that it hardly ever gets dull????

As for "normal" swords, it depends on the type your talking about. Different eras swords had different properties.

Tom

[FartInAirConditioner]

A good point with tight places. There's a reason the samurai wore a short sword (wakizashi) as well as their katana(s). A katana in a hallway is not an effective weapon, the wakizashi is much more deadly in small spaces because angles of attack aren't as limited.

Wakizashi were used primarily for seppuku (ritual suicide). In a pinch, they were used if nothing else was available, but they weren't often used as weapons.

[Greig]

It sounds like you've got this whole zombie thing figured out.

On a side note, why would a katana not get dull?

A properly made katana is made by folding steel in a special way [I think, I don't actually know how] so that every time one part of the blade gets scraped away there's another blade underneath it.

Think of it like this.

Normal sword:
_____
_____>

Katana:

>>>>>

I think that's pretty much how it works...

[Absit]

A standard medieval sword is forged and sharpened on a stone. A traditional katana is molded around an iron core, the steel is folded hundreds to thousands of times, and then sharpened. The result is an edge and blade that would not dull before you did.

[Brash]

Theres a lot of myth surrounding the katana, due in no small part to television. The reason it was folded steel was to get an even distribution of carbon through the whole blade. With modern high carbon blades theres no need to fold the blade. They are exceptional swords, but nothing magical.

[Joe Ghoul]

True that.

I love that people seem to give katanas qualities that only swords in Star Wars have.

Its a great sword design, don't get me wrong. A great balance between appearance and function.

Put Kill Bill on pause, and do a Google search.

[AEnemia]

Theres a lot of myth surrounding the katana, due in no small part to television. The reason it was folded steel was to get an even distribution of carbon through the whole blade. With modern high carbon blades theres no need to fold the blade. They are exceptional swords, but nothing magical.

It's funny, people are always forgetting that true Katanas were folded steel because Japan had some of the crappiest iron ore EVER. It's also weird that so many people think they're indestructable and can cut through European style swords easily....

[Mr B10nd3]

Theres a lot of myth surrounding the katana, due in no small part to television. The reason it was folded steel was to get an even distribution of carbon through the whole blade. With modern high carbon blades theres no need to fold the blade. They are exceptional swords, but nothing magical.

It's funny, people are always forgetting that true Katanas were folded steel because Japan had some of the crappiest iron ore EVER. It's also weird that so many people think they're indestructable and can cut through European style swords easily....

+1 They also didn't have a hell of a lot of their crappy iron, hence their leather armor. People actually think that they didn't have metal armor because a katana could cut through it easily.

[Absit]

True that.

I love that people seem to give katanas qualities that only swords in Star Wars have.

Its a great sword design, don't get me wrong. A great balance between appearance and function.

Put Kill Bill on pause, and do a Google search.

Everyone knows real men get their katana information from Highlander.