Sword weight

[Uncle_bob]

Uncle and a friend of his got into an arguement over wether or not a Samaurai sword could break a regular 22" machete in a duel.

Anyhow, Uncle's friend said that the sword is like 15 pounds, Uncle said that he was full of BS.

So, could anyone clear up if the machete would break and how much does a regular Samaurai sword weigh?

[Noone]

i would say look on the internet i found something around 1kilogram for a samurai sword and i dunno about 15 lbs for a machete... why were you guys talking about a duel about a machete and a samurai?

[Shattered_weasel]

Sword vs. Rifle.

I rest my case.

[derBauer]

Pee vs. Poop.

I rest my case.

[Xero_Silvera]

the samurai sword does not wiegh 15 lbs, mine only wieghs (it's real hand-crafted ivory handle with a stainless steel blade) about 11lbs max.
As for a 22" machete? ya got me there o.O;
-xero

[Nai_Calus]

The katana I own weighs about 13-15 lbs, rough estimate against our cats.

Last machete I held was about 8 lbs, give or take.

[Cheep]

Wouldn't it depend on what they're made of? And how big each is? And the force you esert upon each? Are there regular standards for these?

[ladyjaderiver]

All you would have to do to beat the machete is hit it on the side, and it would break. Or so I've been told by a guy who collected samurai swords and machetes.

[Shattered_weasel]

On 2004-04-10 17:26, derBauer wrote:
Pee vs. Poop.

I rest my case.



You ruined it.

[Noone]

On 2004-04-10 19:26, Cheep wrote:
Wouldn't it depend on what they're made of? And how big each is? And the force you esert upon each? Are there regular standards for these?



yeah i agree... its all relative. I think they all have the potential of being nroken by one another.

[Uncle_bob]

Hm, well, Uncle's machete is either 22" or 24", he can't remember at the moment. And being hit from the side probably wouldn't break it unless the hilt was being held in a vice or something, heh, it's pretty flexible. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_mad.gif

Uncle believes it's pretty old too, there are no logos in the blade or hilt http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_eek.gif

[Dangerous55]

On 2004-04-10 16:58, Shattered_weasel wrote:
Sword vs. Rifle.

I rest my case.




Agreed.


Guns>Swords.


Also, their is no universal weight for swords of any type.

[Uncle_bob]

Wtf? This isn't about swords and rifles. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_disapprove.gif

[BlackRose]

I've seen a katana cut a rifle barrel off, so I'd bet it could halve a machete if you had the right swing (like you swung them at eachother edge-first)

But that was one hell of a katana.

If you have a normal katana and machete, you can bash em together all you want and they might just chip and spark a little. The katana might bend (if it's a "L@@K NINJA SWORD 9.99!!!" like you find on ebay) but I doubt it.

[Arislan]

Well, if you were using a true katana, and not a display version, the katana would very likely slice through the machete, or else shatter it to pieces.

Why?
A true forged katana, non-display, would not be made out of carbon-steel. This would give it a much higher tensile strangth, and leave it able to hold an edge much better than any 440 Carbon-steel blades now.

The machete on the other hand, would very very likely be forged with a carbon/steel mixture, just makes good business sense. Normally, unless you're pounding the thing against a rock or metal, nothing is going to happen to a machete, and it will hold an edge just fine for heavy hacking work.

Now, when a steel weapon, bladed or not, hits that machete, both going at full force, the more brittle machete will very likely either have a heavy chip taken from it, or flat out shatter under the pressure, since the carbon lattice can't handle the sudden strain. In the case of a katana, the blade would slice right through the machete, again, possibly shattering it in the process. Probably chip the katana a little too, but nothing that could't be buffed away. A machete just isn't designed to be able to take on impacts from solid objects like that.

As for weights, you're looking at around a max of 5 pounds for a katana (display types actually usually weigh more, they tend to put lead weights in with the 1/4 to 1/2 tang at the bottom). Katanas were originally designed to be drawn, struck, and sheathed in an instant, so lightness was the key here.

A machete would probably be in the range of 3-7 pounds, depending on size. Saying 22" doesn't really help, thickness and width play a large part in the design as well. Machetes are used as a chopping device, more tearing the target apart than neatly slicing it, so weight, especially topweight, is desired.

[Guile]

What the fuck?

Ehh I don't think every sword is the same, you know weight, how sharp it is ehh the user of the sword...

[Arislan]

No, but then, not every Dodge Neon is the same, different weights, drivers and the like, yet safety ratings are given to them anyway. On average, the results will be so.

And note that with my example, I was speaking of a battle sword, not a display model. A display model would likely chip and not much else. A properly forged and sharpened battle model would simply be stronger than a machete, just given how it is made, and intended usage.

Also given intended usage, a weight for said sword can be estimated. Yes, there are swords that are above and below that mark, but the median would be at the point stated above. Nothing stopping some Samurai from getting a 20 pound katana forged and trying to lug it around.

[Sharkyland]

Display swords are rather cheap, but the 'real' katana swords from what I heard are fricking expensive... almost the price of new cars because the work of laying the metal onto the sword (folding, as they would call it), but it all depends on who makes it.

I have a display katana and it's sharp, can cut a watermelon in half with ease, but a real katana can cleave a lot of things though it's not something you would normally do since it would chip the blade. Yeah, it can cut through metal easily. I know real katanas can EASILY cut through display katanas as if they were cheap wood but still that's frowned upon since it'll chip the blade.

[DurakkenX]

take 10 men...line them up...hold the blade horizontal...run at the men...if the blade doesn't go cleanly through all 10 men it's scrapped. That is how katanas were tested. Thats with clothing and armor on. i think...katana beats anything...even a show katana can cut through lots...although my cheap katana's hilt shattered from hitting things and it sucked because i couldn't do anything to damaging with it...i can cut through a 5 inch tree lim wit a 1 inch stick...but my katana didn't cut through a 2 inch tree limb blah

[Sharkyland]

10 men? I don't think that's a reality on how they tested it, but I used to know how they tested it. Wasn't it suppose to be against like bound hay or something? I seriously can't remember, and I have to look some of this stuff up.

My fake ninjaken is unbelieveably sharp, but I know it can break. I love cutting weeds and branches with it. The most I can cut with it is probably 1.5".

[Uncle_bob]

Hm..Well, if one were to make a machete and a katana out of the same exact metal, and both duelers had the same experience, who would win?

Makes one wonder how and why this would happen though. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

Also, is there a way to figure out what grade the metal of something without destroying it? http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_disapprove.gif

[Sharkyland]

Also, is there a way to figure out what grade the metal of something without destroying it? http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_disapprove.gif

I would have no clue, but my educated guesses are:
- sound pitch
- weight, volume, density
- color
- flexibility (maleable)
- texture

If you can destroy it, tiny bits of it:
- chemical tests

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Even using the same material for the katana, you can fold it a LOT if you are really, really good.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sharkyland on 2004-04-11 18:13 ]</font>