Katana vs Longsword which is better?

Question

Katana vs Longsword which is better?

Answer 1

There is no "best" sword. Stephen's answer is on the money. The technology used in the construction of the katana was actually primitive by medieval European standards. Similar techniques were used by the Norse among others well before the Japanese. With the advent of the blast furnace, the pattern welding process was no longer needed and European smiths abandoned it.



For the actual performance of the blades, on average a katana is slightly better cutter, but a longsword is typically balanced closer to the hilt making for a more accurate thrust. No sword is designed for brute strength, and no sword can cut armour. That's a myth. Against armour, longswords were held in a "half-sword" grip and used like a short spear to attack the articulations in the armour, down the cuff of the gauntlet and so forth. It was also used as a grappling tool, and also to deliver strikes with the pommel with both hands on the blade, like a two-handed hammer. There was some half-swording with Japanese swords as well, but in a more limited manner. Also remember that the katana was a shortened version of the older and more potent tachi style swords. This shortening of blades was done to curb the danger posed by samurai to the state... it was law.



The katana is a specialized weapon. In its intended context, it does very well. Once taken outside that context, it does not perform so well, and is also somewhat fragile. The longsword on the other hand is a very versatile weapon. While it doesn't cut quite as well as a katana on average, or thrust as well as a rapier, it functions in a wide variety of contexts. It's probably the most versatile of swords, and certainly was very useful for fighters for more than two centuries.



A sword is a sword. They're not magical. They were tools to accomplish specific tasks. In the end, the principles of swordsmanship are universal. Just the particulars change with context.

Answer 2

I've had this question posed many times and the answer is not an easy this is better this is not.



firstly let me say a sword of any kind is a "tool" and is only as good as its wielder.

That being said, anyone who says that the "katana" is a superior weapon is blowing smoke, because the truth is neither is superior to one another. An experienced practitioner in the Katana can easily kill an in-experienced practitioner of a longsword. and vice versa.



to adequately explain how the weapon works you have to look at three things. Where the weapon is from, what the weapon is made from, and what the weapon is designed to do.



Firstly The Katana is From Japan, a nation which was Cloistered from the rest of the world for a very long time. With this in mind you have to know that for nearly all the time the Katana was used, the Japanese only really made war with each other. There were never any wars with other nations until the french (i believe it was the french, but i could be wrong on this one) came sailing off Japans shore and fired their cannons across one of japans major cities at this time. Thats right folks, gunpowder scared the bejeezus out of japan so much that they opened their ports to we savages and started trading cause they'd be damned if they werent going to get some of that black powder.



The longsword by contrast was European, a continent filled with nations wanting to kill one another. so the longsword or if you go back far enough, the arming sword (single handed sword) or even the gladius, was a weapon meant to wage war on many nations. No xenophobia here, were either going to conquer you or enslave you etc etc.



comparatively the katana was made to fight kill and conquer the japanese by the japanese. The longsword was made to fight kill and conquer "the rest of the known world" Advantage? Longsword (at least in my opinion)



Now on to what the Katana is made of versus the longsword.



Firstly calling a Katana a "Marvel of Metallurgy" is probably accurate simply because at the time in feudal Japan the type of steel they had was, for lack of a better word, Crap. much of the time it was powdered or recovered in small chunks and the molecular structure just wouldn't hold together very well. so the sword makers came up with a solution (that was the marvel) By folding the steel they could remove some of the carbon from the metal and give themselves one very fine solid edge that was sharp enough to cleave through a man. but thats it. one edge. and the drawback was that the blade was so brittle on the flat that you could shatter it like glass. Now keep in mind these are the blades from way back in the day. if you were to buy a Hanwei practical plus Katana made today. you would easily have a sword better than any Samurai had back in Feudal Japan. except for maybe the Shogun himself.



By contrast the longsword metal is solid and easily forged into a sturdy blade which can easily hold two edges. The blade would flex to allow blocks and parries on the flat of the blade as well as the edge.



comparison: Katana - fine edge, brittle and breakable on the flat, low quality steel

Longsword - more flexable, able to hold 2 edges, high grade carbon steel

advantage: Longsword (thats two)



Used for:



this is the big one, remember how i said that the Katana was designed by Japanese to kill Japanese? this is where the fighting styles evolved. now Killing is Killing regardless of what implement you use, but each and every Katana style is specifically designed to use a Katana, and to defend against a Katana. (Keep in mind that this statement is based on the fact that at the time the Japanese had no experience fighting other nations). This is a Slashing and cutting weapon and weighs about 3lbs, your cuts with this weapon were drawn in a slicing motion much of the time to make use of the katanas fine edge this would do the most damage to a target.



The longsword by contrast was used to make war on, well lets be realistic, EVERYONE. it also weighs about, you you guessed it, 3 lbs. because it was a straight blade and not curved you could have maybe an inch more reach with it if not more. The blade is designed for Chopping and Hewing (impact with precussive force causing a cleaving effect) slicing the edge like a Katana is at best an annoyance. because of these characteristics the longsword fighting styles would incorporate front and back edge cuts in addition to thrusting (something a Katana to my knowledge cannot do even remotely as effectively)



now these are just the characteristics of the weapon.



remember the MOST IMPORTANT RULE with ANY sword. is the training, skill level, and abilities of the person Wielding the weapon.



Thanks

Answer 3

Katana Vs Longsword

Answer 4

The question of which weapon is superior is in reality a question of which group has the better training.

Asking which weapon is superior is also an interesting question as there are numerous areas in which can be classified. Just so you know this is 99% subjective.



Construction materials: Longsword. When it comes to making swords from iron it all starts with how pure the metal is. Europeans had found ways to make superior steel from iron ore so superior (and cheaper) metal came right out of the forge.

The Japanese pattern welded steel to homogenize the metal and push out as much impurities as possible, this resulted in a beautiful blade but at the same time numerous structural weaknesses.

Scientific studies (I forgot where I read this exactly it was a long time ago) of historical swords of the period showed that Japanese swords had around 100 times the content of impurities as European swords.



Versatility: Longsword . This includes a lot of factors.

Every part of the longsword could be used as a weapon, the blade for cutting (though the katana has a slightly superior cutting blade), the pommel and quillons/crossguard for blunt force (for when you need a mace and don't have one), and the tip for slipping into the cracks of armor. The katana is a slashing oriented weapon and it has the ability to stab but the edge geometry and shape greatly limits the accuracy of said attack. Also the most important advantage in battle goes to the longsword, Reach.

Katana blade length ~28-31 inches. Longsword length ~33-50 inches (I am including the bastard sword, the arming sword is a one handed weapon)



Lifetime: Katana

This part goes to the katana. An advantage the katana has is that it was intended to last a bit longer than the longsword. This is because Japanese steel was expensive to work with. Western steel on the other hand was cheap and people were more likely to literally throw away their weapons when they were done with them (namely used/damaged to the point where they were unusable) and this can come as quickly as one duel. The katana on the other hand was often given from family member to family member.



Evolution: Longsword

Some can argue that the Katana was a sword that was made near perfect from the start while the longsword has had much iteration through history. The longsword's evolution mirrors the changes in armor so that the longsword can be an effective weapon in the battlefield. As a result against armor the longsword is an acceptable anti-armor weapon.

Also the Japanese are a stubborn people…

Against armor (namely knight armor) the Katana fails spectacularly. This gives me the impression that the Katana was either a sword of status, a ceremonial weapon, a peasant killer, and/or a wall hanger.



Why is the katana so prevalent?

This is an easy question to answer when you think about the people. I have two theories, First Japanese entertainment, and second the samurai was the last to die out.

Japanese entertainment (anime and live action) likes to improve their gear to supernatural standards. The katana is a sword that reflects Japan and its people, therefore the Japanese will have favor to their own sword. If the katana is better in cutting the Japanese will give it supernatural cutting prowess. Think about how many fictional shows and myths have the katana being such a cutter that armor and weapons are cut through it.

The samurai lasted longer because of the evolution of western weapons, specifically the firearm. The day the firearm reached the battlefield armor became useless and tactics changed. The firearm became the main weapon for combat and the sword became the secondary. As western battlefields changed because of the firearm the techniques, skills, and such of the knight and longsword were thrown aside and left to vanish in history. Much of what we know today about knights and armor come from what archeologist can uncover and piece together, this includes the shapes of the swords and techniques in how to use the weapons.

Japanese samurai on the other hand has more complete historical data because they were the last to become obsolete.

In history sometimes it is not the best who is remembered but the one who last the longest.

Answer 5

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/axSl8



spear with or without shield or perhaps a glaive/halberd/naginata part of me would say a european longsword but that particular scenario is a bit too politically involved and has to date never been done properly the pistol vs katana is overdone honestly I have never seen a fight sequence between them that did not take me out of the moment entirely the battle axe has some potential especially in the form of the poleaxe or the small single handed axe with shield combo

Answer 6

RE:

Katana vs Longsword which is better?

Me and a friend were having a debate. He thinks a Katana is a hacking weapon just because its a 2 handed sword... Its clearly a slashing weapon and is made of carbon steal and is made up of many layers of it.



A longsword is long...

Answer 7

The two are made with different purposes, they had both evolved to answer different questions.



The katana was designed to cut along its long edge; the longsword, although double edged, was designed to stab to penetrate plate armour.



They are tools, they were developed for specific tasks, you cannot definitively say one is better than the other since each performed their task well.

Answer 8

As with any tool, it depends on the skills and desires of the user. Ask a dancer which one is better, and you'll have a different answer than someone who is looking to use these in battle. Fighting with weapons is a strange sport, and I always find it interesting how people make their own rules from their experiences with each battle, or each dance, or each sparring session.



Phallic symbols are fun to play with.

Answer 9

Any sword ever made is a result of a series of compromises that depends on the desired performance characteristics of the weapon combined with the technology and skill available to its craftsman. There are tradeoffs every time a sword design must place one trait above another. To ask then, what is a "better" sword is to ask, what are your needs for that weapon? The longsword and the katana both were proven answers to very similar yet not identical problems of specific self-defense. Ultimately, any sword is only a tool; well-forged, carefully tempered and honed, but still just an inert piece of handcrafted steel. In the end, perhaps the firmest conclusion that can be reached is that, historically, both the longsword and the katana served its intended purpose with equal success.

Answer 10

Technologically, the katana is the much better weapon, a true marvel of metallurgy and artisanship, and ideally suited for its intended use: slashing through unarmored human bodies...



Now, it all dépends on the actual use and circumstances... on the field of battle, with armoured opponents, the katana is a much less desirable weapon, which is why the samurai favored the bow, spear and naginata for battlefield use. It doesn't cut well through armour, and such use puts it at risk of irreparable damage, and is not very good for precise stabbing work...



In contast, the longsword, which is a heavy blade suitable for hacking and clubbing at need, longer than the katana, and made narrow and pointy so as to be able to stab through the chinks of enemy armour is actually a better battlefield weapon.

Answer 11

Depends on the skill of the user and if your opponent is armoured..yes Katana is legendary cutting through men like a hot knife through butter...but if the opponent is armoured with chain mail it would take a skillful strike to get through mail or armour. Longsword was designed for cutting through knights armour with brute force. Katana is best at slash attacks, longsword can slash and stab but is a little more wield than Katana. Soooo my next question is whom are you attacking then that would determine the weapon used.