Atlantia, I really can't see how the katana could take all that much longer to make, no. We have a slightly higher degree of complexity in the hilt assembly, so a bit longer seems reasonable, but anything of that order?
As for the risk of battle damage, yes, as the Japanese seem to have hardened their edges to a higher hardness, a reduced toughness will be the expected result. However, isn't it pretty far to go from that to say that using the sword against someone in iron armour means "potential catastrophic damage to blade, as does any even glancing blow to solid object". Given the presence of iron armour on Japanese battlefields, it seems to me that this would imply that the katana would be basically worthless for its original function (as a soldier's sidearm). The intent may have been to simply point out that the katana is slightly more brittle, but depending on what one considers a glancing blow, what is said may imply considerably more.
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24th September 2009, 01:51 AM
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