Engineers of History

Longswords Vs Katanas

These two swords I just mentioned is the long sword and the katana. Both are swords are incredible but which is better for combat?

By: Kian Abris, Journalist

Introduction

Swords are a very popular weapon in the modern world. Its featured in tv shows, movies, anime’s, and cartoons. But what is the most popular swords in history? Your probably thinking of a long double edged blade or the curved Japanese sword. These two swords I just mentioned is the long sword and the katana. Both are swords are incredible but which is better for combat?

The Longsword

Longswords, which were popularized in the Late Middle Ages, have long been a part of European culture. The longsword is a double edged blade used for cutting and thrusting, something that katana is not used for. Also the longsword steel is spring-tempered which means its durable than he katana. For example the katana can only slice a few times before the blade gets dull, chipped or possibly snap in half. The reason why this happens is because Japan didn’t have the best material for blades back than. On top of that since they never started trading goods with other countries they couldn’t access some certain metals that the European had. The longsword has a longer reach than the katana which means you could hit your opponent first before they can hit you. Also The longsword is heaver or similar in weight with the katana. Since some longswords are heaver than the katana it has better stopping force than the katana, but it sacrifices speed and mobility. All these things I just listed is how the longsword has an advantage against the katana.

“Armour and longsword” by quinet is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The Katana

The katana is a Japanese blade made for slicing your enemy’s in half. It was made during the medieval era which was when the longsword was made. The katana is a one edged blade mainly used for slicing while the longsword is made for cutting and thrusting. But the katana has a better edge alignment than the longsword. For example since the katana has a huge curve it helps you slice accurately. On top of that because of the way of the curved blade is weighted its helps you slice better. Since the longsword is a straight blade it lacks this amazing feature. Also the katanas edge is far more sharper that the longsword. This is because the makers of the katanas spend a lot of their time sharpening the edge. On top of that the katana is shorter that the longsword, which means its easier to draw your blade quicker. Another thing that the katana has that the longsword doesn’t is better hand protection. For example the tsuba or commonly known as the handguard is a circle shaped plate that slightly protects your hand in battle but its not only used for hand protection. Its used to balance the katana’s weight and to not let your hand slide into the blade so you don’t cut yourself. One last thing that the katana has that the long sword doesn’t is that its lighter. Which means you can carry it on your waist for long periods of time and it faster to attack.