Poll: Slicing a guy in half with a katana in one blow, possible?

Would a Katana cut you in one blow - head to groin?

  • No chance in hell.

    Votes: 268 56.3%

  • Yes, like a hot knife through butter.

    Votes: 208 43.7%
  • Total voters
    476
Can possibly be done with a Katana, and a master swordsman...

Can DEFINITELY be done with a light saber \o/

now where did I leave my coat.....?
 
Malt_Vinegar said:
Have you ever seen the video of the katana blade cutting a bullet?
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the katana didnt exactly cut the bullet, the bullet was shot at the katana. still, it shows that even todays modern katanas are damn sharp.

As for the broadsword, again, not designed for this kind of manouvre. broadswords were mainly for breaking bones with sharp impacts and for some thrusting actions (snigger)

broadsword top to bottom = no
katana top to bottom = no
broadsword shoulder to midriff = no
katana shoulder to midriff = yup

katana 4tw clearly
 
Lord Pablo said:
From what i have read in books, the swords made for Samurai were tested thoroughly by the blacksmith making them.

They would either test them on corpses from recent battles, or, more likely then not, straw dummies soaked in water.

They did a variety of testing "cuts" involving such ones as arms, legs, decapitation, and the final one being a slice from shoulder to oppposite waist/midriff.

The tang of the sword would be inscirbed with the tests it completed.

Katana's (for the majority, but also the Wakazachi (sp) and Tanto) were razor sharp, and are designed in such a way they work in a slicing motion.

Also, from looking in my book, Flashing Steel (a book all about Eishin-Ryu Swordsmanship) if you failed to kill your opponent in the proposed single move, you could counter-attack/defend by slicing off a hand or even whole arm.
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thats basically what I saw on the history channel but some texts said they used criminals as well..the sowrd would be graded by how many people it could slice through and inscribed as such on the tang


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tameshigiri

the link desribes the different tests
 
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I reckon it would be easier with a broadsword.

Edit: the weight of the sword would put it through a head, going much further would just be a chore.
 
naww no chance used Katana's for many years during weapons training in Jujitsu and learnt quite a bit about them. As already mentioned in the thread the Katana is mainly a slashing weapon designed for fash accurate strikes to areas such as the neck and torso.

You'd be very pushed to slice even through a feme never mind a skull+rib cage etc.
 
It would do enough damage to cut them or fatally wound them very deeply, but not nearly enough to cut them in half - too much bone.
 
A proper Samurai sword and a proper Samurai to go with it and IMO yes it is possible to slice somebody in half from side to side. I think shoulder to groin is less likely though.

A "proper" Samurai though wouldn't do it I don't think as he'd consider it a waste of energy and a potential risk to his sword. Much easier to just slit their throat or stab them in the heart :p
 
fatiain said:
I think left to right or right to left would be pushing it a bit too.
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why, under the ribs there's very little to resist a sharp blade.
there's only the spinal column, which isn't a single solid object, it's lots of small bones held together by muscle, tendons and the central nervous system.
 
Whitewater said:
It would depend a lot on technique. I'm not sure it's possible but if it is you have to ask yourself, have you created two seperate humans or simply cut a single human into two halves ;)
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You would create half twins with different personalities.
One would be left handed and the other right handed.
 
I dunno if it could cut the spine unless it sliped between the boney parts and went though the "softer" tissue (not easy in itself)
 
dunno

it wouldn't necesarily need to "cut through" the bone though.
if it hit the bone with enough force to break it, the broken bone would no longer present an obstacle and the blade could pass through the fracture gap.

don't know how much force it would take, but remember that the spine is designed (or has evolved for you pedants;)) to withstand compressian vertically. it's unlikely to be anywhere near as strong laterally and the blade wouldn't be offering compression anyway.
 
its still though because its formed with small parts that are relativly thick, you're going to have a hard time maintaining the force behind the blade having sliced though half of someone already,
also as you swing the sword the force transfered is not even across a lateral swing, (if you get my meening) so maybe that would be an issue
 
NathanE said:
A proper Samurai sword and a proper Samurai to go with it and IMO yes it is possible to slice somebody in half from side to side. I think shoulder to groin is less likely though.

A "proper" Samurai though wouldn't do it I don't think as he'd consider it a waste of energy and a potential risk to his sword. Much easier to just slit their throat or stab them in the heart :p
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Most Samurai cut for decapitation, or at least tried. Most humiliating cut was to chop your opponents hands off and let him live (if he didnt bleed to death)

A cut straight through the waist is easy. A shoulder to groin was the hardest test for a sword (see my first post in this thread) and not all swords could manage it.
 
Does anybody remember that sword attack back in '99.

IIRC i heard a quote (which I cant find atm) by a high ranking doctor that the sword had actually cut one of the victims teeth clean in half!

So bone cant be that much of a problem for a samurai sword especially seen as this was recent and would be a replica.

As for straight down the middle i dont reckon but down the side of the spine maybe.
 
dmpoole said:
You would create half twins with different personalities.
One would be left handed and the other right handed.
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Ok, I don't want to drag this out, but surely they would only have one hand each, hence not right or left handed, but simply.. um... uni-handed?
 
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