The PROBLEMS with katana vs longsword comparisons 

Cool

I mean yeah it's part of there culture if it ain't broke don't fix it sure they could incorporate english style blacksmithing and get a better sword but who cares what they made is pretty good

Oh. Besides some Blacksmiths seeing it as an art, regulations. Reminds me of how Black power weapons like Muzzle loaders aren't legally classed as a firearm in some US states.

​​@@bigred212ou're replying to a comment about how the katanas are made to follow regulations more so than culture or tradition. The point was they COULD use modern techniques, they'll just have to then file it as a bladed weapon instead of a classical art piece, and there's less market for that.

It’s art and status, then a weapon.

Do you want to set the world on fiiiireeee?

What annoys me is when someone reinforces their bias by taking the oldest example of the one they dislike and comparing it against the newest example of the one they like. There's like an 800 year difference between the swords Shad is comparing, nevermind the differences in the amount of actual metal in them.

At the end of the day, the swords really matter very little. Its the warrior that matters

@@Baraodojaguary lmao great comment. i love fallout and can't wait for starfield

@@johnderat2652 thank you i m not that hyped for starfield becase i m not into sci fi becase i believe our future is more fallout like than starfield but i really like Elder Scrolls, altough i ve been playing less since i don t have as many time for it and becase as a Christian there is somethings i find disturbing in elder scrolls but same can be said to fallout but in both games i can avoid those quests i don t to daedric quests in skyrim nor aliens quests in fallout

I agree on the comedy balance. A year ago when Oz was part of the team, they were experimenting with a much goofier comedy, which imo was doing a disservice to the educational nature of this channel. With the current team , the comedy and seriousness is very well balanced and it works great.

How about a tsuba that smoothly extends into a crossguard?

That would pretty much make a short kriegsmesser and a long katzbalger.

Mugen would approve.

*tsuba つば for your hiragana

Katana cutting like a laser is pure fantasy. The longsword was made equal to an axe. Again Europeans designed their weapons for war, the Japanese mostly made the katana more ceremonial.

Yes, though it is also possible that the average height of Japanese men in 1870 was shorter than it was in 1570. This is true for Europe at least, the industrial revolution on the population explosions of the 18 and 19th centuries meant that there were a lot more malnourished people walking around which can decrease average height. I do not know about Japan for sure, but in both China and Europe there was a drastic drop in height in that time.

"(5.08'-5.2' for the measurement of countries with a flag on the moon.)" - Oh we got one of those here 😂

Yes, you're right. I've visited katana shops as part of a tour before, and the explanation that I got was this japanese swords were (and still are) made according the user height and arm length even if you buy the already made ones you will be offered the one that suitable for your size.

Huh I didn't know my country had a flag on the moon - thanks for telling me

@@thescholar-general5975 This is a bit random I guess, and it isn't something I've looked into deeply so don't take my word for it, but I saw some graphs mapping "Average European male height over time" (yeah, I know that's kind of a broad sample lol) and I was surprised to see it show a peak around 700AD that was only overtaken in like 1960. There's obviously a lot of things that could impact that data, but if it's representative of general population trends, that's probably surprising information for people to hear

I’ve heard that 15th century Tachis were in metallurgical terms superior to Edo period Katanas. And they were not as brittle as Edo period ones, and I h believe that the brittle saying comes from Edo Period, yes they were still more chippable than spring steel, but not greatly, and I actually have seen Katanas with rolled edges too, as for the tsuba and cross guard both actually have pros and cons as Tsuba has more area on the side. It’s more than just about design there were different metallurgy in swords that are older as well.

@@slicerpaper This is true, a daimyo conducted an extremely large test in the 1800s where he tested swords from many sword-making schools, many swords chipped easily because a wide bright hamon was the fashion, a razor sharp edge and a bright temper line is more easily attainable with such a hard temper. I have seen a nodachi from the 14th century with small nicks and rolls that are more typical of a softer temper, I think this is more representative than the edo period style swords that we simply think of as katana. 15th century japanese swords and 15th century european swords are pretty much the same metallurgically, I do not understand how the myth of japanese having inferior steel to the rest of the world became so widespread. "That Works" has a great video about myths regarding swords steel, but basically research has shown that european swords are often made of bloom and sometimes even have a iron core (even into the 16th century) essentialy the same methods as japanese swordsmiths. The hema community thinks that their albion swords of modern steel that is almost completely homogenous in any way represents medieval swords, but medieval swords (even if springier than katana) still could be bent out of shape, either due to uneven hardness or because it's not hard all the way through the blade. Even when better steel started to replace the bloom in europe, the end result was much better but still really bad compared to modern steel.

​@@atom8248 because Japan has shit metals. They had to develop advance metallurgy to make weapons that compared to Europen counter parts. European black smiths didn't have advanced metallurgy. They were equally talented in making weapons but getting the metals to that point was something beyond the average smith. You assume the quality of metal is inherent when in fact the Japanese had to do considerably more work to the metal before making a blade.

Everyone made weapons out of what they had, even crap iron. The Japanese did not have a choice with anything other than a crap iron source.

@@Ashtor1337 Bloomeries were a thing even into the 18th century in Europe, the problem with Japans steel is not really its quality, it's rather the quantity, part of the reason they had steel shortages in ww2. The folding process that's supposedly a japanese thing needs to be done to all bloom steel, *and* most other types of old steel. The folding and stacking is standard procedure. In the sengoku jidai swords were just pumped out in the thousands across the country, just like in Europe, because the demand was high.

Being correct IS the superior opinion. You investigate and reach the conclusion, then you have your opinion. Most people have already reached the conclusion and formed an opinion beforehand.

I prefer the older videos about castles etc.. more informative and less show and less focused on dumb discussions.

And Kramer

What would you compare a naginata to? A glaive? Fauchard? Guisarme? Bill? Scythe? Bohemian Earspoon?

@@TMTVL I suppose that'd depend on the overall profile of the blade itself, but the fauchard is superficially the most similar to the naginata.

Both are naughty militiamen in short.

I’m pretty sure you don’t get the curve from the hardening. It is from hammering one side (the edge side) and not the other as much causes the curve.

@@Cannibal_Actual This is common with knife making - the billet is cut so that the sharp side of the blade is "shorter", and then it's drawn out to form the curved point of the knife by flattening it into the sharp edge. But a katana is a very long blade, and if that was the source of the curvature, the blade would turn into a spiral during the forging process. In fact, during the billet stage the blade of a katana is more or less straight, and remains so until it's hardened, or quenched. The way the clay hardening process works is like this: The edge of the blade is covered in a thin layer of clay, and the spine is covered in a thicker layer. When the sword is heated, the clay acts as an insulator, which affects the rate at which the heat is tranferred into the quenching medium, which for Japanese blades is usually water. Since the edge of the blade is only covered by thin layer of insulation, it cools down more rapidly and forms a very hard crystal structure called martensite. During this stage, the blade actually curves forward because the edge side is cooling more and therefore contracting more. But the hard crystal structure then sort of locks the length of the edge in place. When the spine of the blade cools down, it also contracts, but since it cools down slower, it doesn't form the martensite structure and it essentially contracts *more* than the edge. When the sword's temperature reaches equilibrium, the contraction of the softer spine causes the characteristic curvature of the typical Japanese sword blade. The final amount of curvature also varies from blade to blade and is almost impossible to control exactly with the tradiational clay hardening method, since minute differences in the clay thickness over the edge and spine can have pretty big differences. The result from this process is also the hamon, or the line where the blade changes from softer spine into the more hardened martensite structures. It's usually a wavy line going along the side of the blade, and it becomes visible as the blade is polished. Sources: www.boxkatana.com/blogs/%E6%96%B0%E9%97%BB/why-is-the-katana-sword-curved ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-u3kkNhIk8Wc.html

@@HerraTohtori yea I guess you’re right

I second this motion, and further propose that they try to get their hands on one of the _oldest_ styles of tachi, called _kissaki moroha zukuri_ blades. It's _technically_ still a tachi, but _double-edged_ for most of the length; once upon a time, in the 900s, it would've been the _typical_ style for a Nihontō, though it never _fully_ disappeared from production even in WWII.

I'm sure Shad would love to make a video discussing your comment. You make a good point. Idk why Westernized countries don't have the level of knowledge of the different types of swords of Japan/other Eastern countries. Maybe due to folklore like with stories told as a kid about the heroic knight. It's just strange to me how much we know about the longsword family more so than the katana family.

@@DrIownyou Europe overall was _far_ more integrated and _way_ larger than Japan. Naturally, more stories about swords and examples of them survive into the modern age due to this difference.

That's what I was thinking. It's like comparing a pistol to a rifle and saying the rifle is more accurate over longer range. Well of course it is, it was designed for that purpose. In fact, the legendary status was probably because of the civilians who saw it used to devastate people armed with clubs or knives rather than it's proficiency on a battlefield.

the sword you are looking for is called "wakizashi" katana is still more of a military sword, whereas wakizashis were more for urban / "civilian" uses. Well, as "civilian" as a vassal family tied to the royalty or a very wealthy merchant, the ones allowed to be used by civilians are called ko-wakizashi which is an even shorter sword. that said, wakizashi were often used on battlefield together with katana as a pair. weapons adapted to situations their master are in instead of simply "become better", while the tachi were useful on mounted horseback, they were less nimble than katana when fighting dismounted. katana and long sword (or specifically, the bastard sword) is a good enough comparison without diving too deep into the nuances.

as my nan would say "opinions are like arseholes, everyone's got one and there usually full of shit"

Move the goalpost to warwolf > katana

You just have to differentiate between objective and subjective truth. You can compare every sword and rank them by looking at their general performance or you can assess them according to their intended use. As long as you can have a nuanced discussion, everything is possible.

Show the a Kriegsmesser

It's still a shit sword. And people are making this point compared to longswords because of the years of idiots raising the katana to a godly status. I'm glad people are knocking the katana these days for how shit it is.

Right there with you on the techniques! I’ve done kendo, iaido, HEMA, and all three types of competition fencing, and the styles and techniques have crossovers, but there’s also so many subtle differences, some of which are taste, some are because of sword design. Then, of course, it has to be acknowledged that not everyone was trained the same, so there can be variance between how someone *ought* to use a particular sword vs how someone historically did use a sword. Case in point of the tsuba vs. crossguard. They’re optimized, imo, for the ways they were intended to be used defensively, but if someone uses them improperly, they both have significant weaknesses.

But there is crossover. A capable swordsman would be able to pick up either weapon and effectively use it in almost identical methods. It's not untill you get into advanced or specialized techniques that those differences occur. Those same specialized techniques are found Even amongst similarly related weapons of the same era and/or geographic region. When you get to that level of skill you are far beyond what is the better weapon and are now directly comparing techniques.

@@Ashtor1337 Oh for sure, no argument there in broad terms. Of course, there’s a wide divergence in technique between, say, a rapier and a claymore, but when it comes to swords roughly designed for slashing, there’s quite a bit of crossover.

@@Ashtor1337 There is most definitely some crossover (I really loved Skallagrim's recent comparison video covering that) but...let me just roll with the crossguard vs tsuba example. So when Shad was testing the tsuba they held the sword with the blade facing the opponent, the flat facing parallel. The tsuba only protected the hand if you performed a dedicated motion to hit the blade out of the way. And this is normal technique for the katana (I'm terrible at technique names). But you would deflect the blade out of the way with the tsuba protecting your hand as you raise your sword then bring it back down for a strike. (Actually, theory time. If you did have a crossguard in that direction it might hinder this technique as it might get stuck on the guard rather than clear it then when you slice down you either impale yourself or let your opponent chop you.) You cannot do this with a longsword crossguard and my hands can attest to this from experience. There is zero protection in that manner as it is barely a finger thick on each side. However if you turn the crossguard so that the flat faces the opponent and the blade parallel (how Shad tested the crossguard) then it works. The trade off is that you can't do the up then down motion like the katana. But this is fine since the longsword has its own set of techniques meant to take advantage of that position. You can't do the same thing with a katana since there is no crossguard and your wrists will pay the price for trying to use it like it has one. Shad said that this meant the crossguard is objectively better but really the tsuba just failed at being used like a crossguard. If Shad tried using the crossguard like a tsuba (keeping the blade facing the opponent and using what little extra thickness the crossguard has as protection) then the crossguard would fail. Basically neither is objectively better as they were made to do different things and their blades allowed the appropriate follow ups to those things. Now the messer is where things get interesting as it seems to address this. Now I've never trained with a messer but I've cut with them before and they usually have a nagel, a tiny protrusion on either one or both sides of the flat. This nagel is big enough it should serve the same purpose as a tsuba. If you test the nagel in the same way they did the crossguard then it would also fail. I suspect that there is a messer technique similar to that of the katana, using the nagel to protect the hand while deflecting away a blade while it rises then cuts. Or another one is the side ring that you can put on a crossguard. Side rings are roughly the same size as a tsuba. If he grabbed a longsword with a side ring then tested it the same way, the side ring will also fail because it was not meant to be used that way. Side rings provide as much protection as the tsuba. Once again, I've never used a longsword with a side ring before but I strongly suspect it was meant to allow the same up then down motion as the katana. Somebody probably hurt their thumb like I did and wanted to change that.

@@TheAngryAsianAnimations Yes, I am totally with you here. I have sustained a few hand injuries from longswords because I am not used to presenting my flat to the enemy in a crown guard while receiving a strike. I like to just keep my edge facing the opponent to come down for an immediate riposte but this doesn’t work the same way with a crossguard.

Japanese bows are also fairly unique as they are asymmetrical recurves....

If memory serves a scandinavian king had one as a curiosity.

Don’t forget the O-Dachi.

It's not really a "typology" when it's basically just longer and shorter. The Oakeshott and Elmslie typologies cover _far_ more variation in shape.

@@WJS774 On the contrary, there are actually a lot of different variations in blade geometry in Japanese swords. There is a wide range of tip, tang and even blade edge and spine forms. Not to mention the angle of curvature, which the Tachi is known for being more radically curved than the typical Katana.

Would be great to see, but where can you even _get_ Japanese polearms? It's hard enough to get good European ones.

@@WJS774 Well it could just be a discussion and theorization video like Shad used to do in the old days. But I am sure Shad and his crew have knowledge of lesser known retailers who can sell the hard-to-find polearms. Or even make their own considering they just made their own falchion recently!

odachi is the biggest size, a larger version of the tachi, the same way the o katana is a larger katana. don't leave out the tachi and o katana.

@@possiblyabacteria i mean, i dont mentioned them all. Just to clarify this video lack of information.

@@possiblyabacteria like i said, the words katana is general term for all kind of japanese sword.

Those are not katanas anymore, they're their own category as they go past the requirement. A katana cannot go past 60-70cm or else it will stop being a katana become a different type of sword. Yes, "katana" means "sword", but don't forget that it's still a specific type of Japanese sword, otherwise why would they bother giving the nodachi or a tachi a different name instead of just calling them "katana" all the same? "Just to clarify this video lack of information." - There's no lack of information, you're the one who misunderstood

@@MW_Asura the Japanese literally said that Katana mean sword in general. "Katana" as you mentioned, are what the westerner stand point, thanks to hollywood. As i stated above, Samurai goes to battlefield with big sword.. Okatana, Odachi Nodachi, long Spear, etc. Whatever they calling it.. consider words Katana itself also work for "big sword", until edo period and they reducing the size to become more comfort in public city.. but its not what Samurai use in battle.

THAT'S WHAT IM SAYING

If nothing else, if people bring up two edges>single edge, ask them why Messers exist and why daos replaced the jian among soldiers in ancient China.

@@martytu20 my guess would be they are more useful for horseback and are cheaper to make

Messer is just a knife

The pop-katana seems much more contemporary with the saber and smallsword. I say compare the old-style sengoku tachis with longswords; later edo katanas with everything from rapiers to sabers to smallswords.

*were

Wh'ere're

Wear

w3@R3

Look up swiss sabre

I just remembered that Tod's Workshop has made videos about one ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SY_GYDq-nJY.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4v9AlvAxB9g.html

You may want to look in that. They blocked with what ever they could. While the best option was to block with the side or back, the same can be said with all single edged blades, plenty of evidence shows that it didn't occur. Due to the Crossguards Superior design European swordsman had and developed more options in defense.

@@Ashtor1337 I think we’re speaking of two different things. Only a fool would say no one ever edge blocked with a katana; a claim like that would require absolute knowledge of every move of every samurai in history. I don’t claim even a small percentage of that knowledge. What I’m talking about is how they were trained, which in the case of Japanese swordsmanship is universally side blocks so far as I can tell. My point was simply that the tsuba’s design reflects how they were trained to block, not necessarily how people actually blocked in combat. It’s kinda like a Isshinryu black belt bo class I was in once upon a time. In Isshinryu, you’re taught to head block at an angle, to deflect the opponent’s downward attack and block at the same time. Some of the black belts were flat blocking (holding the bo horizontal), and the master decided to make an example of one and hit his bo with a really powerful downward attack, which broke his bo in half and almost knocked him out. Now, a black belt should have known better, but he let his technique get lazy. Likewise, I’m certain that many samurai let their technique get lazy too. But that doesn’t change the way they were *trained* to do it. Does that make sense?

I'm pretty certain that the Kriegsmesser resolves and fixes most of the issues that a typical longsword and Katana have by design and such.

Those are no longer katanas, they're their own category of swords, hence they aren't included. The katana has a specific min-max length requirement, if the length of the sword doesn't fit those requirements (they're shorter or longer) they're no longer katanas. The longsword however only has a minimum handle/blade length requirement

@@MW_Asura They are basically katanas, only more curved or longer, what happens is that the Japanese give different names to all the different types of designs, while the Europeans say long sword to any straight 2-edged sword.

"Better" is a loaded term. "Better" in what context? Are you going to carry a longsword down a crowded city street and use it for self-defense, or are you going to carry a katana onto a battlefield to bash against someone in armor? That's something that Shad and the Boys didn't get around to testing properly, "circumstances in which the blade was intended to be used". You need to judge swords based on their purposes; longswords overall and katanas specifically have different intentions, and so comparing them would be a _horribly_ mismatched affair.

@@felx233 They are not. Even though "katana" just means "sword", it's also its own category of Japanese sword. The katana has the strict requirement of only being as long as 60 or 70cm, or else it will become a new type of sword, aka a nodachi. "while the Europeans say long sword to any straight 2-edged sword." - What? All European swords are double-edged, do you even have a clue what you're talking about? The qualifier of whether a European sword is an arming, bastard, longsword or greatsword is the length of the handle and/or the blade

@@MW_Asura That is why I am telling you that the Japanese name all the different types of design, in the past the tachi only differed from the katana because one hung from the edge downwards and the katana hung with the edge upwards, but they are all very similar to katanas, only longer or more curved and also all fall into a range of Japanese swords, the fairest thing would be to compare all the designs that derive from the katana with all the designs of the straight swords. That all European swords have a double edge? Do you really know what you're saying? Falchion, Grosse messer, kriegsmesser, Szabla, Falcata etc...

This subject is already saturated

@@Douglassilva91098 Katana mean sword in japanese, it came with different size from Wakisaki to Odachi. What we have now, is "never in battle" version of this sword, from long peaceful period.

​@@kingconstantinusthesadisti133um danêsse kkk

the steel didn't start off poor quality it was the iron and the inferior crucible technology they used that resulted in lower quality steel that the Japanese used. If they had forges as advanced as the european ones the steel quality would be comparable.

You are 100% wrong. Japanese metal started off shit and had to be improved. That why thier metallurgy was more advanced. While the quality of metal may be the same the process it took was vastly different.

Katana steel is of such superior quality that modern high-end Japanese kitchen knives are made from the same steel as katana. ru-vid.comTldpPYewaQo ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tbbky_RwFyc.html&ab_channel=JapanGo%21 Japanese iron sand is ilmenite iron sand found in granite, which is weathered magma, and contains vanadium, which strengthens steel. In ancient Japan, slag was called noro, and the process of removing slag was called noro dashi or noro shibori. In tatara ironmaking, the iron sand is semi-molten by keeping the furnace at 1300℃, but only impurities such as phosphorus, sulfur and silicate are melted and discharged as slag. Vanadium makes the steel malleable and easy to roll, making it easy to fold. By folding, the vanadium is finely dispersed and combined with carbon to form a fine metal structure, so the katana has excellent hardness, abrasion resistance, corrosion resistance, and toughness, and becomes beautiful when sharpened. Hitting the steel with a hammer removes the carbon with a spark, so the carbon content drops to 0.7%, which is suitable for katana. The approximate amount of carbon can be determined by the shape of the spark. By folding, katana steel is in a state in which austenite and martensite structures with different hardnesses are dispersed. When a katana is sharpened with a Japanese sharpening stone, the austenite is removed and martensite remains, so the blade becomes like a microscopic saw. That's why Japanese knives pull when cutting. Japan's Hitachi metals developed Yasugi Specialty Steel (yasugi hagane) around 1970 from the principles of tatara ironmaking. Yasugi Steel has the same properties as katana, so it is hard, impact-resistant, and hard to break. Yasugi Specialty Steel has various uses such as cutlery steel, high-end kitchen knife materials (kai corporation, zwilling), razor materials (Gillette, Schick, Wilkinson razor steel), automobile parts, automobile engine parts, and aircraft engine parts. used for

@@Ashtor1337 no? Their crucibles didn't get hot enough to properly melt the iron, and as such the quality of the steel they produced was super inconsistent due to uneven distribution of the carbon. It's why the smiths who made the katanas would only choose the choice bits of the produced steel to even work with, the whole folding thing is literally only done to even distribute the carbon in the metal. its why it took so long to make their swords compared to European weapons which were much more easily mass produced due to have crucibles that reached higher temperatures.

Not really. Both are swords and can be successfully used using almost identical technique. The difference is the options presented by a long sword are just superior. More offensive options and Superior defensive capability. Using your methodology you might as well compare the human fist to a sword both are weapons both can be used to kill but one is objectively better than the other.

@@Ashtor1337 the katana was definitely a different weapon with different techniques than a longsword. Is there a Mordhau with a Katana? No, because their culture and society didn't have such armor available that such a technique had to be developed. With the Katana you also try more to slash and dodge and are less likely to static block or bind with the enemy weapon. With the longsword and its amazing guard there are other maneuvers and techniques possible, whereas with a Katana's tsuba those are impossible. The Katana on average is a more "softer" and "fragile" blade in comparison to a longsword. In modern terms a Katana vs longsword sidearm would be a 9mm vs a MP9. Different caliber, different use. A longsword was more often viewed as a tool and a Katana was often more ceremonial.

If the disc guard had nothing to offer than side rings or nagels never would have been added to crossguards. They are there and have a use, it is just not used the same as a crossguard.

@@thescholar-general5975 it's better than nothing but a crossguard can protect the hand against a strike at a wider angle

​@@Duke_of_Lorraine crossguards was a thing in Japan as well use on different weapons, some use in dual wielding but not on the sword itself didn't require it. Crossguards are found in other cultures but may not be popular or common. That's true if we're only talking about a small disc guard, bigger ones existed more common in earlier times than now.

Yeah, that would be great, but not with a kendo-ka. That would be like an expert in Japanese swordsmanship inviting an Olympic fencer over for the same purpose. What they'd need is someone schooled in some form of kenjutusu which is more about actual swordsmanship whereas kendo is more a sport like modern fencing.

*Kenjutsu. Kendo isn't really swordsmanship.

LMAO. None of the team are master swordsman. Plenty of Oriental sword experts have done response videos and find Shads comparisons accurate. Infact you can give those same experts European blades and they can use them to the same effect. The basic techniques are the same.

kreigmessers just aren't nearly as popular as longswords or katanas....

CaseyBartley I guess messers are kind of technically considered knives, so . . .

Japan didn't have this one way to make a katana, they also have different handles designs and guards, is uniformity people think of the Japanese swords is more modern manufacturing because it's easier if a sword has one look people recognize.

Dude, you're so wrong it hurts

Swords don't always have specific names, and even the classifications people use nowadays are mostly a modern convention. As mentioned in the video, the shorter hand-and-a-half swords in the line-up are usually classified as bastard swords, while the larger ones are generally called war swords (although it heavily depends on who you ask). If you really need specific names, the sword with the clover-like protrusions on the guard is what we would usually call a Claymore (though the name is a point of contention since its also applied to later basket-hilted swords), and the sword to the left of it is a fantasy design from Lord of the Rings. Just remember that most of the time, the people that actually used swords just plainly called them 'swords'. There's only so much classification you can do before you get into ahistorical territory that will confuse your players. While many might know what a longsword or a rapier look like, your players aren't gonna understand what you mean when you start talking about Katzbalgers and Cinquedeas.

1 Honshu single-handed broadsword 3 Alexandria longsword 4 Aragorn's longsword 6 Lockwood sl1009 7 Anduril 9 Therionarms english greatsword

@@HD_HerpDerp Yeah, thank you very much for the assistance and different view of things, it means a lot to me. I'll try to calm down on the specifics when it comes to weaponry and instead perhaps try a new approach, such as making my own cool weaponry!

If somebody cannot look past their subjective bias then I don't think that they should be taken seriously in this discussion. You can like Longswords or Katanas, but if we have facts and factual evidence then it should not be disputed. It would be like arguing with a dictionary definitnion, at that point you have to recognise that you are dealing with either a fanboy of one sword type or an idiot

Meanwhile, us blunt weapon enjoyers can find the beauty in any culture's beating sticks.

@@kaimagnus5760 I did a few years of impromptu quarterstaff sparrings I can relate lol

@@kaimagnus5760 There is just as many blunt weapon types as there is bladed. If they do not have some out already, they will be coming.

@@oldmangreywolf6892 And they're all designed to do one thing. Hit REALLY good. Thus why they're all beautiful.

It would be awesome if Shad bought and added some Chinese and Roman swords to his collection

Eeeyyy, notification squad!!

Recommendations squad

Sup notification squad

Again. Katana mean blade or sword in Japanese. It came with different size, people often ignored. Theres greatsword Katana, and theres mini Katana. What this guy use are not war sword, but used in peaceful edo period, check that out.

That is not true. "Gunsen History @gunsen_history" Search this guy. And read this. "January 27, 2019 Iron and Steel Technology in Japanese Arms & Armors - Part 3: Bladesmithing' "November 04, 2019 Japanese Swords "Mythbusting" - Part 1"

I personally am always disappointed at the lack of Polearm represantation in fiction, i mean why does the hero always need to carry some kind of sword?

@@nikespen768The same reason heroes these days are associated with handguns rather than rifles, like James Bond and his trusty Walther PPK. Even warriors aren’t in battle 24/7, 365 days a year, every year, for their entire lives. So swords, despite being used less, would likely be carried and handled more often because they were personal defense weapons for every day life on top of being backup weapons in war. Same with handguns in modern times. A rifle beats a handgun in firepower every time. However, if I’m just going about my daily life, carrying an AR-15 every day is cumbersome, inconvenient, not to mention very conspicuous. A small, compact, lightweight handgun for daily carry is much better, which means people are going to be handling that more often. Polearms and rifles being more mainline battlefield weapons usually away from civilian life means they’re more likely to be associated with the faceless redshirts in the hero’s army rather than the hero himself.

@@gameragodzilla I see where you are coming from, but the disparity between handgun usage and usage of Assault Rifles and Heavier weapons does not seem to be as big as between Polearms and Swords. I mean even James Bond used other weapons on occasion, while there are clearly also many action Heroes that either take what they can get, or go with the biggest weapon available. I do not see that in pre-firearms settings, i mean, while i can see the hero using swords in urban areas or when they dont expect a fight, they then use the same sword on the battlefield (Without a shield!) and do not even think about changing weapons to suit the occasion. So when there are heros awkwardly using swords on the battlefield or some other quest that clearly involves combat why are there no heros, that, the other way around awkwardly use polearms in the city. Especially in Fantasy settings where some swords are more awkward than most polearms could ever be.

@@nikespen768 Sure, James Bond used other weapons on occasion, but he does still primarily stick to his pistol most of the time. You also see Han Solo use his blaster pistol most of the time, only occasionally using a long gun. So it’s definitely a persistent trope throughout history. And yeah, you do see some awkwardly large swords in fantasy just so they can keep using swords, but you also see that with handguns. No practical person carries a Desert Eagle for combat, but they’re a staple of action movies and video games because “big ass handgun” appeals to people the same way “big ass sword” does.

Why?

​@@MW_Asurabecause its repetitive. Generally ppl who watch about these subject already know the differences and the utility of each weapon. Could say more about the way lived the ones that times, constroctions, limitations, ledears, idk other things. However. Thats ok to talk about these two things.

The katana is viewed with reverence because the _creation_ of one, assuming you use the legally recognized methods in Japan, is considered a religious ceremony. Part of that is because swords/blades feature prominently in the Creation Myths of Ancient Japan, unlike most Western civilizations. However, as you've surmised, the other part is because the Japanese _did_ typically resort to lower quality raw ores out of necessity, meaning it took a _lot_ of skill and time to turn it into something acceptable; by the time a swordsmith has _finished_ a katana using traditional methods, the metal wouldn't be qualitatively much different from typical European swords of the era. Truly, the only _real_ differences between Japanese and European swords are how they are meant to be wielded. That informed the shape of the blades themselves, which in turn impressed upon the techniques and styles they are wielded in. Neither is _better_ than the other; they have their own intended uses, and they excel in those uses specifically.

@@anthonylamonica8301 Good bit of info with regards to the myth/religions side of Katana's, I hadn't considered that aspect honestly.

Vote this up people

"I am going to be honest, this form of silly comparison has been done to death to address the innate sense of inferiority HEMA practitioners and enthusiast of Western history have on average compared to East Asian history enthusiasts" - Oh yes we have a sense of inferiority alright

@@MW_Asura I know this would have generated some flame. But it is true. Otherwise you will not have any single you tube persona dealing with western European history, HEMA, arms and armor having at some point a take on katana/samurai/Japanese history. Very little is done in comparison with middle eastern, Indian, central asian culture. Just compare the amount of "Katana vs longsword" content coming from HEMA or related people (SHAD is definitely not a HEMA practitioner) with any other blade from any other point in world history. How many "Tulwar vs Saber" videos are there? Longsword vs Jian? You tell me. How many Japanese kenjutsu practitioner, bladesmiths, you tube history people do the same with western Europe? There is clearly a form of obsession in my opinion

A katana is quite heavy, in fact.

Hmm. The longsword isn't really "stronger" and the katana aint much "faster" though. But I agree with the last sentence.

User name checks out. What makes you think that a katana is faster and less tiring than a longsword?

​@@bigguy7353 It isn't really heavy either. It's basically what you'd expect from a sword of its size

Katanas are slower not faster. Speed has to do with weight and length. The longer the sword the faster the tip moves and the lighter the blade the faster you can swing it, so longswords are by far faster than katanas. The rapier being the peak of speed for a sword. So the katana doesn't have more speed or endurance for that matter.

I'm pretty sure it is.

Biggest idiot

There's some, although very limited, variation in the form of katanas, but nothing compared to the diversity in longswords. However, in terms of balance & how they feel in the hand, katana vary about as much as it possible to vary