Yes. That's why I mentioned hard strike together with sharp blade. With these two conditions one can get lucky even if the sword is garage-made:-)
1796 was heavy, not as fast as shashka, but the steel quality was excellent and in the hands of a burly English lad it beat the hell out of every other sharp and pointy thing. This is why it was adopted ( with minor cosmetic modifications) by so many other armies. Kind of AK-47 of the 19th century:-)
|