Can we just appreciate how great the item respawn animations were in this video? So seamless. I for one, am in awe and appreciate their efforts. That was amazing to watch.
Yes. The animation quality, is super smooth. I'm thinking Oz, has started using a mass effect teleport chamber or has a Psyduck on the property somewhere.
That's just one of the default transitions in DaVinci Resolve. It takes as much effort as a regular crossfade. 10 years ago, it would have been impressive and would require a lot of work for every transition.
As someone who has worked with 2x4's for over 10 years of my life I can tell you just by the color difference of that second 2x4 that you cut with the thousand dollar katana with, that 2x4 is much harder than the lighter fresh wood colored one. It was a difference in wood, not blade there. That grey-ish discoloration on the second 2x4 is sun hardened/seasoned wood. Trust me guys- if you really want to do a fair test, you have to use 2 of the same 2x4's from the same lot.
The only difference in the results would be the board not splitting. The katanas will warp and bend and chip the same as the previous tests, guaranteed.
Gray discoloration in usually caused by moisture from what I understand or at the very least moisture makes the process of the discoloration quicker. Your opinion is definitely relevant about would structurally changing. I know a little bit about storing wood in a humid all seasons climate. Having to plain wood again to refinish it is usually a lot worse than just storing it properly, but it depends on the weather conditions and if you can easily separate things to let them dry if needed. I used to help store large wood timbers.
Yes. Everyone who worked with wood will learn that even two pieces of wood from the same tree can behave very differently. And then there is decay, moisture and many other factors that change the properties of wood. Fresh “green” wood is usually easier to cut and more flexible, older dried out “seasoned” wood is much harder and tend to break before bend. If you cook wood for some time, you can even squish it almost like a sponge. And also the alignment of the wood grain, how the fibers of the wood are arranged, is a big factor. And with used wood you don't know if there are cracks or weak spots from previously impacts and exposure to sun/moisture/bugs/mold/mushrooms...
@@badadvice787 At my workplace we have a single fence panel indoors kept for showroom photographing, and a picnic park bench kept outdoors both made of 2x4s starting off with the usual beige wood color. The fence was kept by the large windows, blocking the sun, while the bench was untreated and got hit with all weather conditions, sun, rain, and snow. The only thing that changed of course, was the bench that changed to a steel-like grey color, and wood slightly warped after shrinking in certain areas. The fence kept indoors still looked the same as the day it was installed, despite the years of sun exposure by the large windows. Bottom line, I believe you are absolutely right.
As a recommendation I would like to see the wood cutting "station" be fully braced so that cutting/chopping performance is not impacted by different placement of wood and stand
The two pieces of wood are different, one looks like kiln dried the other looks like green treated which is heavier and denser. Any one who’s built anything knows the difference. Maybe I’m wrong who knows.
To be fair, Shad has consistently expressed his respect and fondness for katanas. The only weapon he's put an almost wholly negative light on is the nunchaku... Ive never seen any of his content where he's not strived to be completely objective in his reviews.
The only thing Shad is more fond of than a katana... is a big, girthy stick! Except maybe for a machicolated big, girthy stick. But that's way too much power to wield by mortals!
As a practical student of Japanese martial arts I really like modern stainless steel blades, aluminium and plastic sayas. My wooden sayas I reinforce with shrink-tube because they are a bit delicate. Epoxy to bed the tang into the tsuka gives a nice tight fit. Cling wrap stops it all sticking together. Ancient arts, modern materials.
True.The traditionally made katanas are not necessarily better. They're made in this way to honor and preserve the past as well as avoid weapon classification in Japan. They're more considered works of art.
It's also likely that the "ancient arts" are not that ancient. There's enough evidence to suggest that what's taught as martial arts today is the product of modern times, and at most a couple centuries old. Modern warfare made the original martial arts obsolete. Martial arts took a new role in society, more "art" less "martial". There's a reason why most of them are pretty much useless in actual combat, they evolved into performative arts, focused on the spectacle, the cultural value, and less on the efficacy as fighting techniques.
@drakecassell1840 From a Shogo video, which I think we can consider a somewhat reliable source on the matter, when the samurai would lose their main weapon and couldn't retreat, they had their last resort weapon: the katana. Or even something more effective if available nearby: a rock. If you really think martial arts as they are taught today are useful in actual combat, you have been watching too many action movies. Futhermore, melee is still used in warfare and taught to soldiers. There are close quarter situations where a knife, blunt force, or wrestling can be more effective.
According to people like*Let's ask shogo" from Japan, a well crafted katana will usually be at minimum 5000$. There's different sizes of katana as well.
@@azahel542 That, but also it would be quite difficult to do so in the first place. For one the sword is rightfully considered a weapon, second the shops forging and selling them are unlikely to offer such a service.
I got this real cheap chinese made "katana" that costs 160€, is made from folded stainless (idk why xD). Being the wrong steel, its not really hardened properly, but they tried a differential hardening on it anyway, the very edge is hard enough to hold an edge a little bit. It has a full beefy tang tho, and thats the most important thing. I've absolutely abused the crap out of it, mainly by removing small trees that had to go from my mothers garden. So far i was able to bend it back into shape every time, and once i managed to cut through a ~12cm small tree in one swing ;D
@@Oruta563 I think so, didn't measure it. Maybe it was only 10 or so. This cheap sword is a Dotanuki style tho, little on the short side but ~1250g heavy iirc. Then max power diagonal overhead swing with 100% edge alignment by luck, since i suck at this and i bend the sword on any other try xD
I’ve dealt with 2x4s for a while. The one you used for the $1000 sword was definitely harder. Also if you look at where the 300 cut through the wood the plank was already about as structurally sound as a homemade submarine.
@@TurkishRepublicanX basically to see which holds its edge better. Obviously hitting wood would dull the crap out of a sword, but some can stay sharp for a lot longer under these “stress tests”
Excluding extremes, it really doesn't matter too much what shape a blade is. But the difference between homogeneous spring steel and deferentially tempered folded steel matters a great deal. Homogeneous spring steel blades are very forgiving, without giving up any performance.
and thats the point of many of shads videos. the katana has advantages over longswords and longswords have advantages over the katana, which is why they are EQUAL. one of the things the longsword gas over the katana is the spring steel. thats just fact. he isnt saying the longswords are thus better, he has always said they are equal.
@drakecassell1840 not really. edge alignment and sharpness are key factors. they have shown that their spring steel swords cut just as well as katanas.
@@scorpionlord9175 My point was, you can make any style of sword from any material, by any method. The style or title of a sword is irrelevant. The material and method however, are relevant.
@drakecassell1840 Swords with spring tempers cut just fine. When you swing anything, even a piece of rope, various forces (explained by physics) will lend it some rigidity. Katanas have comparatively thick spines, and retain plenty of rigidity when made from spring tempered mono-steel.
@@scorpionlord9175 Rigid blade doesn't necessarily cut better, but it can be easier to cut well with. A spring steel blade that flexes easily can be more sensitive about edge alignment when cutting, but is also forgiving in that it doesn't deform as easily.
I think when you're looking at price differences, you really need to consider why one of the swords is more expensive in the first place. The $1000 katana is more expensive because it's made with more labor intensive traditional methods, of which knowledge and experience is also pretty rare. Price is sometimes a measure of "prestige" rather than quality.
The price is for a proper style tip and folding of the metal. Neither of which is of any use when breaking a 2x4 like an axe. There is no reason to ever use a sword in this way, so you are paying for a cooler looking sword, and its up to you not to break it for no reason. A wooden sword would be better for LARPing, and a handgun would be better for fighting, unless you are fighting zombies...
I always chose quality over expensive. A Katana is a work of Art, if you're looking for something to display, then go for one that is more expensive but if you're looking for practical use? It's better to go middle of the road. My Katana is around $300, T10 Steel and after 3 years, it still in good condition.
@@Capsuleer7 T10 is used is almost every tool you buy, it's also known as Tool Steel because of its industrial use, able to keep its edge and slower rusting, like any steel, requires maintaining but T10 being most common steel on the market in other areas, it's a good middle ground.
@@skyereave9454 I purchased from a website called truekatana (not the most trusting site for legitimate swords but always some) I don't do much cutting since I have it as a family heirloom as opposed to any practical use, maintenance is basic oiling like 2 times a month.
Ok the water bottle transition was coooooool. And the review was really well done. Dialogue was solid, great back and forth with useful info, nice flow. Yall did great with this video!
13:56 Looks like you're cutting quite different pieces of wood, that along could explain the difference in feel I think. Like a more comically extreme example would be it feels different to chop into balsawood vs oak, that type of difference. Even if they're the same wood the planks were in very different condition by the look of them
Perhaps the reason the cheap Katana cut the wood is because the cheap-cheap one is heavier and ads more momentum. And since the cheap one is made of the same metal all the way through, it doesn’t have any “walls” that stop/hold the blade still, forcing the force back into the handle. And if you buy something cheap, it’s easy to fix because you don’t feel like you’ve wasted your money when you put electrical tape on the handle to make a new grip. That’s why I love cheap stuff; functional and easily fixable.
I got the "Dragon King - Spring Sakura Katana" for $348 USD from Kult of Athena. I freaking love it! I was debating between it and a nice $1000 differentially hardened Hanwei but ultimately decided to go for the Spring Sakura for one reason that you demonstrate in this video. It is homogenous steel and not differentially hardened. As a katana fanboy, who has studied Iaido/Kendo, I have no problem admitting that differential hardening is inferior to spring steel. Ultimately, I did not want a sword that would take a set, I wanted a sword that would return to true, and for a sub $400 Katana with nice fittings and real ray skin, I could not be happier! There are maybe one or two things that I could nitpick, but it just goes to show you that there really are rather nice quality katanas on the market for under $1000 that are superior products and well worth it!
I know you guys know this, the wood you were chopping was not equal. When doing a durability test its important to use the same material. If you slam one sword against Balsa and another against Walnut, the sword hitting the Walnut would go through much more punishment. The wetness/dryness of the wood is important as well in this regard. The 2x4 you hit with the 1k sword looked much wetter, was clearly not the same type of wood, and was in much better shape(less cracks, warps and knots). I do agree in general that the cheaper sword is the better go if you want to functionally use it(for cutting practice like you said). But that is more because if you are going to spend a lot on a sword, you would want it for the beauty of it more so than to abuse it. PS. ice block chop is a great way to test, at least where I live, ice is cheaper than wood. If you are able you could even freeze it yourself in coolers in the freezer.
Exactly. I just made a comment of my own about this. These tests are too sloppy and uncontrolled. That split piece of wood clearly split along a fault/fracture in the wood, not because of the cut. I recommended a channel called Project Farm here on YT for ideas how they can make these tests more controlled.
It gave a general idea. Also, the damage would still have occurred with wood. Pine isn't SO different from wood to not cause damage to a sword. It will keep it from potentially shattering. Finally.... It did agitate the area in the wood with structural damage, but all the same, the different steel structure already made the former sword feel lighter and while more nimble in the cut, weaker in a "chop" They even said it might have chopped deeper but it didn't feel like it transfered energy. The warp is also consistent with the forging technique on that katana. Bamboo pins are often used in a katana hilt to hold the blade in place because if the contact force is intense enough they will shatter, and enable the blade to move... hopefully preserving the blade. You don't need that for a European sword. Likewise the traditional steel blade, even with a warp, cut better than the 300 due to blade retention, a benefit of that forging technique.
@@khalidgagnon8753 You're full of sh!t. It's critical to keep as many things consistent as possible when making a comparison. To make an analogy, they were comparing the speeds of two cars while one car was on a race track, and the other on a dirt road. The comparison is pointless.
There was a lot of variance in the wood used for the tests. It's quite apparent from the appearance of the wood and how it interacted to the impacts. Anyone that's worked with wood before will see the difference immediately. The board used for the $1000 katana test was much harder and stiffer, which might explain the damage. As there's so much variance in wood, it can be a difficult medium to use for scientific testing. Each sword should have been used on the same boards/woods, to eliminate the variables.
@@kam1k0t0 Nate also clearly struck wet planks with the 300 dollar Katana right at the beginning of that test, I believe it comes out to about the same, those were all just regular old 2x4s
@@kingofspades76 "Regular old 2x4s" have a lot of variance. The board at 11:28 was clearly left outside and rotted some, and/or softer, enabling the sword to cut deeper into it and absorbing more of the impact, resulting in less damage to the sword. The board at 12:04 clearly had a fracture/weakened part already in it, which is why it broke so easily in one swing. The board at 12:50 was clearly much sturdier and harder, and gave less when struck, which explains differences in sword damage.
Seeing Shad first debunk bow myths and now kanana myths and being so thorough with it is very nice to see, I love that you guys are going all the way to debunk these things! Keep at it ♥
I suspect that for practical use, the cheaper one would have been preferred during the Sengoku Jidai if it weren't for material & technological constraints of the time.
They mostly used spears during the Sengoku Jidai but ok. Didn't they also use the tachi? Did the whole katana craze start with the Edo period when the upper classes could just kill any peasant for any reason? Yea, real hard cutting down unarmored peasants. Japanese culture might look cool, but their medieval times were incredibly brutal and unfair. The west at least had the concept of freedom for the individual.
I have a few from Swords of Northshire. They are semi custom Katanas ranging from budget to expensive. From what I have seen the lower cost katanas are the better sword. The expensive ones will have a better fit and finish but the real difference is the blade. Example you can get the sand iron swords that cost thousands of dollars or you can get a much more durable spring steel blade for a few hundred.
Its because the cheaper swords are made with Mass produced steel, which is really high quality to start with. Modern steel is just plain outright better than traditional steel, so methods used traditionally to get better blades can actually have the opposite effect on the modern steel.
To be honest, I would still prefer traditionally made katanas over cheaper, modern production ones. Main reason is because, and I know it'll upset some people, swords in general are obsolete. Their role as sidearms in war and self-defense weapons in civilian life has been entirely superseded by handguns, and the only blades we use regularly are knives. Even large Bowie knives are still knives, and therefore ironically small enough to do knife related tasks that are more mundane but relevant. I wouldn't be able to use either a katana or a longsword as a convenient, say, Amazon package opener. So I'd want modern materials and modern manufacturing for handguns and knives, but probably not swords. The main appeal for swords for me is the historical aspect rather than the pure functional aspect. Seeing the methods people made swords in the past using the technological limitations of their day is fascinating. It's part of the reason why I like seeing historical foodstuff and how they were able to be preserved for long periods of time in the days before electronic refrigeration. That aspect can be a bit lost when we're using just modern reproductions. I know modern manufacturing techniques can make a better sword than one using traditional techniques in the past. But I also know modern manufacturing techniques can make handguns, which beat any sword (as Indiana Jones proved. lol) Of course, that's just my view. For people who do care only about the functional aspects of swords, a modern manufacturing sword is going to be cheaper and better than any traditional style.
Love the katana videos but I would love to see a theoretical "best possible katana" with the best possible steel, modern construction methods, etc. Maybe even changing the design of certain elements like making the suba wider so that it could have more utility. Some of these ideas have already been touched on by your previous videos nevertheless I still think this would be an interesting concept.
I am curious, have you guys considered maybe test-cutting on a full beef shank? It'd be a more accurate test because it's _actually_ flesh and bone, which is what blades are ultimately meant to cut, and as a bonus you get a hearty dinner later.
@@anthonylamonica8301 pork is a closer analog to human than beef is, so if you are testing weapons (or surgical tools) pork is what you should use. And a sunday pork roast with all the trimmings is divine.
SUPER IMPORTANT QUESTION!!!!! Is a pizza slicer (the disk blade one) a sword??? It has a hilt, most have a guard, it’s primary use is cutting, and you can’t say it is too short since, it being a circular loosely fastened blade it can rotate technically making the blade infinitely long. I need Shad’s input on this…
We've kinda gotten to the point that we understand steel so well that we can make it in any way we want. We can basically select how rigged or how flexible a piece of steel is and we just make it to whatever specification that we need it for. So I guess the only thing left to do is dive deeper into the details of metallurgy and decide on what is the best balance for a sword and it's many variables. Personally, I'd take that $300 spring steel katana over the best sword ever crafted by the best sword smith that has ever lived if I actually had to take it to the battlefield. I do think that traditionally crafted swords can be extremely beautiful and if I had to actually choose one to buy I'd take the beautiful one. It's just an art piece. Not like you can really do anything if someone steps into your life with a gun. Life isn't an anime. So at best it's a bluff and for that a pretty one would actually be more effective than a blade that is better at killing people. Your still going have to defend the level of force/damage you caused. So hurting but not killing someone is generally better in our current society. So in an add way you kinda want the pretty one that isn't the best weapon.
a human being is a very soft target .... so either of these 2 blades would be quite capable of doing far more damage than you think to flesh ... considering that 1000$ blade was pitted against much harder 2x4's , yet still cleanly cut a soft target , well your logic is flawed
If you know self-defense at all, you would know you *never* shoot to maim. You always enact self-defense with intent to kill. It’s taught in everything from police academies to self defense classes to CWP courses.
Guys regarding to your wood test. Any chance the wood quality can affect the test? Like the first one seemed kinda weathered and the second one looked brand new and presumably more dried out? and on the next one your sprayed water on it. Any chance the tests would be more trastworthy while on a homogenous piece of wood(as much as humanly possible) like a tree stomp? Great video btw!
Great video as always guys ,maybe try bundles of twigs bound together rather than a solid chunk of timber to give a different effect than a tatami mat. Maybe take the two blades apart from the handles and inspect the tangs on camera it may elaborate on the vibration issue?
I’d love to see a video where you determine the best quality budget longsword/arming sword. I would really like to to purchase a decent quality European sword but I don’t have the budget to get something crazy expensive. Your video on best sword for modern day self defense would be a great template!
The expensive katana taking more structural damage may come from the fact that it transferred force less efficiently, resulting in stronger vibrations. Assuming both fittings were of the same quality, that would damage it more quickly.
Your first 2x4 was considerably weaker. The second 2x4 was clearly much wetter wood and didn't crack like the drier first board did. But obviously a heavier blade is going to do better in a chopping motion against wood. The more expensive sword clearly kept a better edge even after the chopping.
But the more expensive sword is no longer safe to use without being torn down and re-seated. The cheaper one at the abuse and is ready for more. The edge staying sharper doesn't matter a lick if the sword is a few hard strikes away from coming apart.
My thought exactly. Its also important to note that it is about what the wood does to the sword, not the sword to the wood. If you are using a different type of object(or in this case quality of wood) to test against it isn't a great comparison. Forged in Fire does an amazing job at doing legit sword (and other weapon) tests.
Own a sword for manor defence, since that's what the Magna Carta intended. Four heathens break into my cottage. "What in the Lord's name?" As I grab my aventail bascinet and windlass arbalest. Punch a bolt through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Throw a pot of naft at the second man and miss entirely since it's a hand thrown grenade in the dark and burns down the neighbour's harvest causing them to starve in the winter. I have to resort to the pot of boiling oil at the top of the hay loft "Deus Lo Vult!" The boiling oil completely drenches two men and cause them to scream in agony and writhe on the ground, racked with incomprehensible pain. The screams of pain frightens horses in nearby stables. Draw sword and charge the last terrified infidel. He bleeds out with no one to assist him since this is Feudal Europe and nobody gives a shit. Just as the Magna Carta intended.
You guys should see about doing a test video on a sword from Swords of Northshire, they advertise hand forged custom katanas for under $500, mine feels better than any other katana I’ve ever held but i have about .5% of your experience so it would be cool to see if they live up to their advertising!!
Great video guys , even with the $300. Sword you could modify it and wrap the tsuka and such for not much more money. One of the best budget swords I have ever used is the Hanwei Raptor and the practical XL
I wonder how these compare to the LK Chen Jian type swords. Such as - Flying Phoenix $473 - Shield Guard Jian $380 - Song Hand DAO $413 I included shipping in the price and prices came from KOA. Except the Shield Guard Jian. That's the total price from LK Chen factory to the US.
You have to notice that the 2x4s which you were cutting with the $300 katana actually had weak points near where you hit (on the underside). It's pretty obvious from the camera's view, and that's what caused the 2x4 to straight up split in half.
What we haven't learned a lot of is sailing during the medieval period. It's as historical as castles, swords, and armor and I would love to learn all about sailing, especially during medieval times. This would be a whole new section of history Shad could give his historical "lessons" on!
the cutting test felt real wrong : the two wood pieces clearly were'nt the same. (i don't think that was intentionnal though) Apart from that, I agree that money does not always mean quality. thank for the upload PS: shouldn't it be the glorious guillotine moment? it would be consistent.
The $1000 price tag is mostly due to the extra work involved in the pattern welded blade not the fittings. I prefer Euro swords these days. They tend to be better made & more durable for the $. To get a Katana of equal quality it will cost so much more both up front & to maintain. Especially when it comes to sharpening & keeping it in polish. Regardless which type one chooses though mono-steel is almost always going to be tougher & pattern welding will almost always be prettier & more expensive.
This video illustrates further, the point made by the highlander movies, the edge of a cheap sword isn't going to give out, like an expensive sword. I'm curious, as to if the have done, the fruit ninja test yet.
The pins (Mekugi) from nicer ones are usually made of bamboo. The top one should be at least in the nice katana. The bottom one might be metal or bamboo depending. It is designed that way to be shock absorbing (which you noted as a favorable part of the katana). They will also break but maintain some integrity of the sword (bamboo will). Which is why you were able to still swing it around despite breaking the pin. It should and can be replaced. Most basic katana care insists on checking the status of the Mekugi before using them. Especially if the risk of the blade becoming a projectile could harm someone else. They were designed to be replaceable and to absorb shock/break that way instead of it shooting into your hands. AKA It's a feature, not a bug.
Katana is just a cool sword because movies and anime shows it. It just soft power of culture branding. Katana is not even a good sowrd for war, it would just break when fighting with other swords of different types. Especially the Carbon infused wootz steel made in ancient India was one of the best sword for wars. It was so good that Arab traders bought thousands of it to sell the European empires to fight wars and earn a lot of profit.
I have a Samurai Sword. My Dad was in the Merchant Navy after WWII, and in the late 1940's he spent a bit of time in Borneo. He met a German ex-pat there, and did a deal with him for some money AND some microscope equipment (slides, bulbs, books etc) for a sword. He brought it home, and kept it for years. When me and my brother discovered it when we were kids, in the 1980's, we asked him about it. Anyways, in the late 90's when I was a teenager, I was drunk one night home alone, and I went out into the garden with that sword and started messing around with it, pretending to be a swordsman. I chopped some weeds with it, etc. Then, for some reason, I took a swipe at the apple tree. I swiped a branch about as thick as my arm. And the ENTIRE branch just dropped to the ground and I felt almost zero impact or resistance. I got major worried. Firstly cos my Dad was gonna notice that a branch of his apple tree, containing a good 20-30 half-grown apples, was missing. And second cos I never knew how freaking sharp that blade was! If I'd have accidentally clipped myself with it, I'd have lost a limb. I hid the branch, went inside and cleaned the blade, and never messed with it again. A few years back, I asked my Dad about that sword. Asked him if I could have it. He said "Sure, you can have it. It's pretty useless and I'm not sure why you want it.". I said it's just a cool thing, would look great on my wall. He also had a dirk that was very old and had similar markings. I checked online for weeks trying to find that sword, or one similar, for information on it. The date on the hilt said 1878. I found one similar, that sold for £16000 a few years ago.
Hmm, I wonder exactly where the quality for price cut out limit is for most swords and armor... I'll have to look further into this sometime. Thanks for providing my brain with another random statistics task to do! And thanks for the video, can't wait to finish it!
Swords are awesome! Im thinking of getting a propper blade, either eastern or western. Thank u guys for doing this. Every blade has its strengths and weaknesses. Its like guns and the ammo they use. Right tool for the right job! "What do u want to do with ur blade?" is the most important question to ask urself before buying.
Not a fuller, but a runnel. The difference is in the width of the groove, which translates to greater or lesser weight reduction. Runnel are thin, and deep. Fullers are wide, and can be either deep or shallow.
This reminds me a guy I saw on YT who paints miniatures and has complained about how much people care about custom bases as opposed to painting quality. He painted the same mini identically and put them on ebay with one having a 15-30 minute custom base. That one sold for 2-3 times the one with the more basic one.
When I see the super steels used in the knife industry today I wonder what kind of swords we could achieve with the same level of research of development.
Wow! I haven’t watched this channel in probably 4 or 5 years and I can’t believe how much it’s changed for the better! Shad you’ve really outdone yourself, excellent video and a superb channel.
Now we only need a couple of pig carcasses and were right into Forged in Fire "it will keal!" territory! Love this format. Really want to see more comparisions of cheap and expensive swords and axes and most of all SPEARS!
I've got a $100 (USD) katana that I bought years ago, and it's really well made. And I got that from a shop in gatlinburg tennessee. It cuts well, hasn't blunted, it's made of hardened steel that is actually differentially hardened. But, that was $100. Granted, I've never chopped it into wood, just chopped watermelons and various other fruits with it. But, it goes to show that price doesn't always equal quality.
Yes, but the test is how well the blade will hold up so that is a variable that's only marginally important. Scuffing one part of the experiment doesn't discount the others, adjustments must be made and that's all.
Nice to know a cheap $300 Katana I bought almost 2 decades ago (At a local store that closed down 5ish years later) is good enough... now I just gota figure out how to solve that rattling
Love what you guys do. Why didn't you cut the same piece of wood, though? That could have played a huge part in what you were feeling, as well as the wood breaking.
The "reverb" in the $1000 katana may be because of the steel. The less expensive swords steel is probably softer overall & thus has more give/springiness meaning it dissipated more of the energy in the blade than the $1000 did due to it having a more rigid blade. But that's just my guess.
@@Trash2000s That's definitely what I'm thinking and from experience that seems true...but it's possible it could be blade harmonics or other factors. Without handling the swords it's just speculation really.
I hope you guys do episodes on Chinese swords and maybe Southeast Asian swords specifically Filipino swords, from your northern neighbor from the Philippines, all in all good episode mates!
Having visited a sword maker in Japan I can tell you first hand that "authentic" Japanese swords are garbage, but they were the best they could do with what they had. The guy who owned the shop said, "The only thing good about a katana is the lore". I would argue that is true with all traditional swords. Without the lore, most if not all swords are probably garbage. I would be willing to make a bet that most swords could not compete with an OKC M9 bayonet (which I am sure are 100% illegal in Australia). Thank you Shad and team for keeping the lore alive.
The only thing for me and the belief that money buys quality as often been proved correct for me. I would rather trust buying a $500 sword then buying a $100 sword. Because the fact is in either case you won't know the product until you actually have it, and I'd sooner trust that a more expensive sword is made better quality than a $100 sword.
But if you happens to be a careless person the higher prices are better avoided. I do not own any swords but I do have various stuff normal people have and I am indeed a careless person. Things break or get lost, better not waste too much money. 😆
I've spent money and have gotten a good stainless steel sword that holds and edge well and is spring tempted and for the same amount of money, have purchased a carbon steel sword and the high carbon steel sword didn't gold an edge as well. It's more about where you buy from. Right now I have a braveheart stainless steel claymore and it's spring tempered and holds a good edge. I have bought the aragorn ranger sword in the past and it was stainless steel and was spring tempered. I tested it out on my safe at the time and that sword is not broken or bent to this day. Even the anduril I bought.
Can we just appreciate how great the item respawn animations were in this video? So seamless. I for one, am in awe and appreciate their efforts. That was amazing to watch.
I had to watch Tyranth slashing the water bottles several times because the transition was so smooth.
Yes. The animation quality, is super smooth. I'm thinking Oz, has started using a mass effect teleport chamber or has a Psyduck on the property somewhere.
That's just one of the default transitions in DaVinci Resolve. It takes as much effort as a regular crossfade. 10 years ago, it would have been impressive and would require a lot of work for every transition.
I’m so glad Shad gave up drawing porn and started doing something productive.
These edits looked nice. What keywords would I need to look up to find a tutorial about such tricks?
As someone who has worked with 2x4's for over 10 years of my life I can tell you just by the color difference of that second 2x4 that you cut with the thousand dollar katana with, that 2x4 is much harder than the lighter fresh wood colored one. It was a difference in wood, not blade there.
That grey-ish discoloration on the second 2x4 is sun hardened/seasoned wood. Trust me guys- if you really want to do a fair test, you have to use 2 of the same 2x4's from the same lot.
The only difference in the results would be the board not splitting. The katanas will warp and bend and chip the same as the previous tests, guaranteed.
@@Sunburst_Nona I feel a difference with a skill saw between lumbers he's got a very valid point.
Gray discoloration in usually caused by moisture from what I understand or at the very least moisture makes the process of the discoloration quicker. Your opinion is definitely relevant about would structurally changing. I know a little bit about storing wood in a humid all seasons climate. Having to plain wood again to refinish it is usually a lot worse than just storing it properly, but it depends on the weather conditions and if you can easily separate things to let them dry if needed. I used to help store large wood timbers.
Yes.
Everyone who worked with wood will learn that even two pieces of wood from the same tree can behave very differently.
And then there is decay, moisture and many other factors that change the properties of wood. Fresh “green” wood is usually easier to cut and more flexible, older dried out “seasoned” wood is much harder and tend to break before bend.
If you cook wood for some time, you can even squish it almost like a sponge.
And also the alignment of the wood grain, how the fibers of the wood are arranged, is a big factor.
And with used wood you don't know if there are cracks or weak spots from previously impacts and exposure to sun/moisture/bugs/mold/mushrooms...
@@badadvice787 At my workplace we have a single fence panel indoors kept for showroom photographing, and a picnic park bench kept outdoors both made of 2x4s starting off with the usual beige wood color. The fence was kept by the large windows, blocking the sun, while the bench was untreated and got hit with all weather conditions, sun, rain, and snow. The only thing that changed of course, was the bench that changed to a steel-like grey color, and wood slightly warped after shrinking in certain areas. The fence kept indoors still looked the same as the day it was installed, despite the years of sun exposure by the large windows.
Bottom line, I believe you are absolutely right.
As a recommendation I would like to see the wood cutting "station" be fully braced so that cutting/chopping performance is not impacted by different placement of wood and stand
Pretty much a safety fail. I winced every time.
Their not testing cutting performance, it’s for feel and durability.
@@azurE2g It still impacts the test result.
The two pieces of wood are different, one looks like kiln dried the other looks like green treated which is heavier and denser. Any one who’s built anything knows the difference. Maybe I’m wrong who knows.
To be fair, Shad has consistently expressed his respect and fondness for katanas. The only weapon he's put an almost wholly negative light on is the nunchaku... Ive never seen any of his content where he's not strived to be completely objective in his reviews.
The only thing Shad is more fond of than a katana... is a big, girthy stick!
Except maybe for a machicolated big, girthy stick. But that's way too much power to wield by mortals!
@@cocodojo A Bokken would be too powerful for Shad
🤡😵💫🤡 HA HA HA HA BAZINGA!
Reviews are almost never objective.
@@leodouskyron5671 truly objective reviews are worthless
As a practical student of Japanese martial arts I really like modern stainless steel blades, aluminium and plastic sayas. My wooden sayas I reinforce with shrink-tube because they are a bit delicate. Epoxy to bed the tang into the tsuka gives a nice tight fit. Cling wrap stops it all sticking together. Ancient arts, modern materials.
hopefully you dont like stainless steel for cutting, because then i know your full of shit
True.The traditionally made katanas are not necessarily better. They're made in this way to honor and preserve the past as well as avoid weapon classification in Japan. They're more considered works of art.
It's also likely that the "ancient arts" are not that ancient. There's enough evidence to suggest that what's taught as martial arts today is the product of modern times, and at most a couple centuries old.
Modern warfare made the original martial arts obsolete. Martial arts took a new role in society, more "art" less "martial". There's a reason why most of them are pretty much useless in actual combat, they evolved into performative arts, focused on the spectacle, the cultural value, and less on the efficacy as fighting techniques.
@drakecassell1840 From a Shogo video, which I think we can consider a somewhat reliable source on the matter, when the samurai would lose their main weapon and couldn't retreat, they had their last resort weapon: the katana. Or even something more effective if available nearby: a rock.
If you really think martial arts as they are taught today are useful in actual combat, you have been watching too many action movies.
Futhermore, melee is still used in warfare and taught to soldiers. There are close quarter situations where a knife, blunt force, or wrestling can be more effective.
I have def used epoxy on my tsuka
According to people like*Let's ask shogo" from Japan, a well crafted katana will usually be at minimum 5000$. There's different sizes of katana as well.
i was thinking the same thing.
@@adnanhossain7200 Though with shad living in Europe, I would imagine it's difficult to go to Japan and buy a proper katana.
@@Revon-Feuer True, shipping to Austria from japan must be very expensive.
@@azahel542 That, but also it would be quite difficult to do so in the first place. For one the sword is rightfully considered a weapon, second the shops forging and selling them are unlikely to offer such a service.
@@azahel542*Australia
I got this real cheap chinese made "katana" that costs 160€, is made from folded stainless (idk why xD). Being the wrong steel, its not really hardened properly, but they tried a differential hardening on it anyway, the very edge is hard enough to hold an edge a little bit. It has a full beefy tang tho, and thats the most important thing. I've absolutely abused the crap out of it, mainly by removing small trees that had to go from my mothers garden. So far i was able to bend it back into shape every time, and once i managed to cut through a ~12cm small tree in one swing ;D
They fold the steal for purely looks. Its not needed but looks cool and more authentic.
You cut through a 12cm thick tree with a single swing ?!
@@Oruta563 I think so, didn't measure it. Maybe it was only 10 or so. This cheap sword is a Dotanuki style tho, little on the short side but ~1250g heavy iirc. Then max power diagonal overhead swing with 100% edge alignment by luck, since i suck at this and i bend the sword on any other try xD
@@Oruta563 th-cam.com/video/IqNeOlas57k/w-d-xo.html somthing like this but luck instead of skill^^
Stainless is a terrible choice for a sword, it's too brittle
I’ve dealt with 2x4s for a while. The one you used for the $1000 sword was definitely harder. Also if you look at where the 300 cut through the wood the plank was already about as structurally sound as a homemade submarine.
I don’t personally like katanas. Just pointing it out.
🤣
Well said, I thought the exact same thing.
What's the point of that segment anyway? To prove which sword is a better axe?
@@TurkishRepublicanX basically to see which holds its edge better. Obviously hitting wood would dull the crap out of a sword, but some can stay sharp for a lot longer under these “stress tests”
Excluding extremes, it really doesn't matter too much what shape a blade is. But the difference between homogeneous spring steel and deferentially tempered folded steel matters a great deal. Homogeneous spring steel blades are very forgiving, without giving up any performance.
and thats the point of many of shads videos. the katana has advantages over longswords and longswords have advantages over the katana, which is why they are EQUAL. one of the things the longsword gas over the katana is the spring steel. thats just fact. he isnt saying the longswords are thus better, he has always said they are equal.
@drakecassell1840 not really. edge alignment and sharpness are key factors. they have shown that their spring steel swords cut just as well as katanas.
@@scorpionlord9175 My point was, you can make any style of sword from any material, by any method. The style or title of a sword is irrelevant. The material and method however, are relevant.
@drakecassell1840 Swords with spring tempers cut just fine. When you swing anything, even a piece of rope, various forces (explained by physics) will lend it some rigidity.
Katanas have comparatively thick spines, and retain plenty of rigidity when made from spring tempered mono-steel.
@@scorpionlord9175 Rigid blade doesn't necessarily cut better, but it can be easier to cut well with. A spring steel blade that flexes easily can be more sensitive about edge alignment when cutting, but is also forgiving in that it doesn't deform as easily.
I think when you're looking at price differences, you really need to consider why one of the swords is more expensive in the first place. The $1000 katana is more expensive because it's made with more labor intensive traditional methods, of which knowledge and experience is also pretty rare.
Price is sometimes a measure of "prestige" rather than quality.
not really showing quality when they use cheap parts for the handle
The price is for a proper style tip and folding of the metal. Neither of which is of any use when breaking a 2x4 like an axe. There is no reason to ever use a sword in this way, so you are paying for a cooler looking sword, and its up to you not to break it for no reason. A wooden sword would be better for LARPing, and a handgun would be better for fighting, unless you are fighting zombies...
I always chose quality over expensive.
A Katana is a work of Art, if you're looking for something to display, then go for one that is more expensive but if you're looking for practical use? It's better to go middle of the road. My Katana is around $300, T10 Steel and after 3 years, it still in good condition.
I use T10 for a lot of my blades as well since I'm on a budget. I find it to just be good steel for the price and purpose.
@@Capsuleer7 T10 is used is almost every tool you buy, it's also known as Tool Steel because of its industrial use, able to keep its edge and slower rusting, like any steel, requires maintaining but T10 being most common steel on the market in other areas, it's a good middle ground.
Where did you purchase and how often do you use it for cutting? Whats the maintenance like.
@@skyereave9454 I purchased from a website called truekatana (not the most trusting site for legitimate swords but always some)
I don't do much cutting since I have it as a family heirloom as opposed to any practical use, maintenance is basic oiling like 2 times a month.
Ok the water bottle transition was coooooool. And the review was really well done. Dialogue was solid, great back and forth with useful info, nice flow. Yall did great with this video!
Keep up the good works guys! Thanks!
13:56 Looks like you're cutting quite different pieces of wood, that along could explain the difference in feel I think. Like a more comically extreme example would be it feels different to chop into balsawood vs oak, that type of difference. Even if they're the same wood the planks were in very different condition by the look of them
I noticed that also.
Perhaps the reason the cheap Katana cut the wood is because the cheap-cheap one is heavier and ads more momentum.
And since the cheap one is made of the same metal all the way through, it doesn’t have any “walls” that stop/hold the blade still, forcing the force back into the handle.
And if you buy something cheap, it’s easy to fix because you don’t feel like you’ve wasted your money when you put electrical tape on the handle to make a new grip.
That’s why I love cheap stuff; functional and easily fixable.
Fair, but the blade isn't likely much heavier than the expensive blade. Mostly the weight distribution is slightly off.
Check the video again, the plank was hit right at a weak spot, they could have used anything to hit that spot and the plank would have been broken.
I got the "Dragon King - Spring Sakura Katana" for $348 USD from Kult of Athena. I freaking love it! I was debating between it and a nice $1000 differentially hardened Hanwei but ultimately decided to go for the Spring Sakura for one reason that you demonstrate in this video. It is homogenous steel and not differentially hardened. As a katana fanboy, who has studied Iaido/Kendo, I have no problem admitting that differential hardening is inferior to spring steel. Ultimately, I did not want a sword that would take a set, I wanted a sword that would return to true, and for a sub $400 Katana with nice fittings and real ray skin, I could not be happier! There are maybe one or two things that I could nitpick, but it just goes to show you that there really are rather nice quality katanas on the market for under $1000 that are superior products and well worth it!
I know you guys know this, the wood you were chopping was not equal. When doing a durability test its important to use the same material. If you slam one sword against Balsa and another against Walnut, the sword hitting the Walnut would go through much more punishment. The wetness/dryness of the wood is important as well in this regard. The 2x4 you hit with the 1k sword looked much wetter, was clearly not the same type of wood, and was in much better shape(less cracks, warps and knots). I do agree in general that the cheaper sword is the better go if you want to functionally use it(for cutting practice like you said). But that is more because if you are going to spend a lot on a sword, you would want it for the beauty of it more so than to abuse it.
PS. ice block chop is a great way to test, at least where I live, ice is cheaper than wood. If you are able you could even freeze it yourself in coolers in the freezer.
Exactly. I just made a comment of my own about this. These tests are too sloppy and uncontrolled. That split piece of wood clearly split along a fault/fracture in the wood, not because of the cut. I recommended a channel called Project Farm here on YT for ideas how they can make these tests more controlled.
It gave a general idea.
Also, the damage would still have occurred with wood. Pine isn't SO different from wood to not cause damage to a sword.
It will keep it from potentially shattering.
Finally.... It did agitate the area in the wood with structural damage, but all the same, the different steel structure already made the former sword feel lighter and while more nimble in the cut, weaker in a "chop"
They even said it might have chopped deeper but it didn't feel like it transfered energy. The warp is also consistent with the forging technique on that katana. Bamboo pins are often used in a katana hilt to hold the blade in place because if the contact force is intense enough they will shatter, and enable the blade to move... hopefully preserving the blade.
You don't need that for a European sword.
Likewise the traditional steel blade, even with a warp, cut better than the 300 due to blade retention, a benefit of that forging technique.
@@khalidgagnon8753 You're full of sh!t. It's critical to keep as many things consistent as possible when making a comparison. To make an analogy, they were comparing the speeds of two cars while one car was on a race track, and the other on a dirt road. The comparison is pointless.
Also, they said in the beginning that the cheaper one is heavier and more top heavy specifically... both of which will improve the cutting power.
Not only is highly illegal in The Shadlands but also prohibitively expensive to buy "blocks of ice" for this METHod 😂
There was a lot of variance in the wood used for the tests. It's quite apparent from the appearance of the wood and how it interacted to the impacts. Anyone that's worked with wood before will see the difference immediately. The board used for the $1000 katana test was much harder and stiffer, which might explain the damage. As there's so much variance in wood, it can be a difficult medium to use for scientific testing. Each sword should have been used on the same boards/woods, to eliminate the variables.
Also the plank used in 1000$ katana test was wet. That definitely made it harder
@@kam1k0t0 Nate also clearly struck wet planks with the 300 dollar Katana right at the beginning of that test, I believe it comes out to about the same, those were all just regular old 2x4s
@@kingofspades76 oh yeah, you are right. A didn't notice that
@@kingofspades76 "Regular old 2x4s" have a lot of variance. The board at 11:28 was clearly left outside and rotted some, and/or softer, enabling the sword to cut deeper into it and absorbing more of the impact, resulting in less damage to the sword. The board at 12:04 clearly had a fracture/weakened part already in it, which is why it broke so easily in one swing. The board at 12:50 was clearly much sturdier and harder, and gave less when struck, which explains differences in sword damage.
Seeing Shad first debunk bow myths and now kanana myths and being so thorough with it is very nice to see, I love that you guys are going all the way to debunk these things!
Keep at it ♥
You guys make cutting with a sword look so easy! And with one arm!! I'm proud of you.
I suspect that for practical use, the cheaper one would have been preferred during the Sengoku Jidai if it weren't for material & technological constraints of the time.
During Edo Period however, they'll picked the most expensive ones obviously, since more expensive katana = better status symbol.
They mostly used spears during the Sengoku Jidai but ok. Didn't they also use the tachi? Did the whole katana craze start with the Edo period when the upper classes could just kill any peasant for any reason? Yea, real hard cutting down unarmored peasants. Japanese culture might look cool, but their medieval times were incredibly brutal and unfair. The west at least had the concept of freedom for the individual.
@@googleandsusansucks
Did you just assume samurais didnt use those swords as sidearms alongside their spears and bows?
Tod's Workshop just released an affordable Falchion in his Tod Cutler line. A 14th Century Clip Point Falchion, amongst others.
love it thanks for being so honest
Always love a good katana review.
I have a few from Swords of Northshire. They are semi custom Katanas ranging from budget to expensive. From what I have seen the lower cost katanas are the better sword. The expensive ones will have a better fit and finish but the real difference is the blade. Example you can get the sand iron swords that cost thousands of dollars or you can get a much more durable spring steel blade for a few hundred.
Its because the cheaper swords are made with Mass produced steel, which is really high quality to start with. Modern steel is just plain outright better than traditional steel, so methods used traditionally to get better blades can actually have the opposite effect on the modern steel.
Shadiversity, it would be awesome to see a video on chainswords, chainaxes and other 40k weopons and your opinions on them 😊🙏
th-cam.com/video/_aGGUH5CP1Y/w-d-xo.html
there you go
He's done one on the Chainsword, AGES ago. Though, it would be nice to see the others' opinions on it.
they are really dumb
I love how this feels just like a tv cooking product review, but for swords.
The blue one because the racing stripes make it go faster of course.
The blade shock difference could be that when the wood split it couldnt apply the same normal force than when it held up to $1000 one.
Great vid boys!
To be honest, I would still prefer traditionally made katanas over cheaper, modern production ones. Main reason is because, and I know it'll upset some people, swords in general are obsolete. Their role as sidearms in war and self-defense weapons in civilian life has been entirely superseded by handguns, and the only blades we use regularly are knives. Even large Bowie knives are still knives, and therefore ironically small enough to do knife related tasks that are more mundane but relevant. I wouldn't be able to use either a katana or a longsword as a convenient, say, Amazon package opener. So I'd want modern materials and modern manufacturing for handguns and knives, but probably not swords.
The main appeal for swords for me is the historical aspect rather than the pure functional aspect. Seeing the methods people made swords in the past using the technological limitations of their day is fascinating. It's part of the reason why I like seeing historical foodstuff and how they were able to be preserved for long periods of time in the days before electronic refrigeration. That aspect can be a bit lost when we're using just modern reproductions. I know modern manufacturing techniques can make a better sword than one using traditional techniques in the past. But I also know modern manufacturing techniques can make handguns, which beat any sword (as Indiana Jones proved. lol)
Of course, that's just my view. For people who do care only about the functional aspects of swords, a modern manufacturing sword is going to be cheaper and better than any traditional style.
Good video, guys, and good discussion about the realities of modern metal vs 'traditional' metals.
I really appreciate the Mythbusters vibe in this one.
Love the katana videos but I would love to see a theoretical "best possible katana" with the best possible steel, modern construction methods, etc. Maybe even changing the design of certain elements like making the suba wider so that it could have more utility. Some of these ideas have already been touched on by your previous videos nevertheless I still think this would be an interesting concept.
Yeah, it's a machete
I am curious, have you guys considered maybe test-cutting on a full beef shank? It'd be a more accurate test because it's _actually_ flesh and bone, which is what blades are ultimately meant to cut, and as a bonus you get a hearty dinner later.
They have done a cut test using pork. I think it was during their fire sword video.
@@DH-xw6jp But it isn't a _beef_ shank, now is it? I prefer steak to bacon, and I'd bet they do too.
@@anthonylamonica8301 pork is a closer analog to human than beef is, so if you are testing weapons (or surgical tools) pork is what you should use.
And a sunday pork roast with all the trimmings is divine.
SUPER IMPORTANT QUESTION!!!!! Is a pizza slicer (the disk blade one) a sword??? It has a hilt, most have a guard, it’s primary use is cutting, and you can’t say it is too short since, it being a circular loosely fastened blade it can rotate technically making the blade infinitely long. I need Shad’s input on this…
I dont think its a sword bc you cant thrust with it
@@JustachildinasinkI believe some swords aren’t meant to be thrusted
@@AxeBearWhoCares you're right
Another AWESOME video ❤ ⚔️
Love the channel
Thanks again for the excellent work, and the entertainment too 😁
We've kinda gotten to the point that we understand steel so well that we can make it in any way we want. We can basically select how rigged or how flexible a piece of steel is and we just make it to whatever specification that we need it for.
So I guess the only thing left to do is dive deeper into the details of metallurgy and decide on what is the best balance for a sword and it's many variables.
Personally, I'd take that $300 spring steel katana over the best sword ever crafted by the best sword smith that has ever lived if I actually had to take it to the battlefield.
I do think that traditionally crafted swords can be extremely beautiful and if I had to actually choose one to buy I'd take the beautiful one. It's just an art piece. Not like you can really do anything if someone steps into your life with a gun. Life isn't an anime. So at best it's a bluff and for that a pretty one would actually be more effective than a blade that is better at killing people.
Your still going have to defend the level of force/damage you caused. So hurting but not killing someone is generally better in our current society. So in an add way you kinda want the pretty one that isn't the best weapon.
a human being is a very soft target .... so either of these 2 blades would be quite capable of doing far more damage than you think to flesh ... considering that 1000$ blade was pitted against much harder 2x4's , yet still cleanly cut a soft target , well your logic is flawed
If you know self-defense at all, you would know you *never* shoot to maim. You always enact self-defense with intent to kill. It’s taught in everything from police academies to self defense classes to CWP courses.
Guys regarding to your wood test. Any chance the wood quality can affect the test? Like the first one seemed kinda weathered and the second one looked brand new and presumably more dried out? and on the next one your sprayed water on it. Any chance the tests would be more trastworthy while on a homogenous piece of wood(as much as humanly possible) like a tree stomp?
Great video btw!
Great video as always guys ,maybe try bundles of twigs bound together rather than a solid chunk of timber to give a different effect than a tatami mat. Maybe take the two blades apart from the handles and inspect the tangs on camera it may elaborate on the vibration issue?
Anyone who thinks expensive means quality have only dreamed about owning an exotic car and not actually researched owning an exotic car.
I’d love to see a video where you determine the best quality budget longsword/arming sword. I would really like to to purchase a decent quality European sword but I don’t have the budget to get something crazy expensive. Your video on best sword for modern day self defense would be a great template!
The expensive katana taking more structural damage may come from the fact that it transferred force less efficiently, resulting in stronger vibrations. Assuming both fittings were of the same quality, that would damage it more quickly.
Your first 2x4 was considerably weaker. The second 2x4 was clearly much wetter wood and didn't crack like the drier first board did. But obviously a heavier blade is going to do better in a chopping motion against wood. The more expensive sword clearly kept a better edge even after the chopping.
But the more expensive sword is no longer safe to use without being torn down and re-seated. The cheaper one at the abuse and is ready for more. The edge staying sharper doesn't matter a lick if the sword is a few hard strikes away from coming apart.
My thought exactly. Its also important to note that it is about what the wood does to the sword, not the sword to the wood. If you are using a different type of object(or in this case quality of wood) to test against it isn't a great comparison. Forged in Fire does an amazing job at doing legit sword (and other weapon) tests.
The cheap sword went through two different 2x4s, and broke both without significant damage.
Own a sword for manor defence, since that's what the Magna Carta intended. Four heathens break into my cottage. "What in the Lord's name?" As I grab my aventail bascinet and windlass arbalest. Punch a bolt through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Throw a pot of naft at the second man and miss entirely since it's a hand thrown grenade in the dark and burns down the neighbour's harvest causing them to starve in the winter. I have to resort to the pot of boiling oil at the top of the hay loft "Deus Lo Vult!" The boiling oil completely drenches two men and cause them to scream in agony and writhe on the ground, racked with incomprehensible pain. The screams of pain frightens horses in nearby stables. Draw sword and charge the last terrified infidel. He bleeds out with no one to assist him since this is Feudal Europe and nobody gives a shit. Just as the Magna Carta intended.
Amen.
Good video, I wonder which one resists more against the collision with another sword
Good morning, good to see you upload.
You guys should see about doing a test video on a sword from Swords of Northshire, they advertise hand forged custom katanas for under $500, mine feels better than any other katana I’ve ever held but i have about .5% of your experience so it would be cool to see if they live up to their advertising!!
Bro your intro title card has been the exact same since I first found your content😂 I love it, keep it forever
Great video guys , even with the $300. Sword you could modify it and wrap the tsuka and such for not much more money.
One of the best budget swords I have ever used is the Hanwei Raptor and the practical XL
Loving the water bottles appearing back effect.
The items reappearing is trippy. Because I looked away/was looking at the sword when it happened and got confused as to how there was more to cut.
I wonder how these compare to the LK Chen Jian type swords. Such as
- Flying Phoenix $473
- Shield Guard Jian $380
- Song Hand DAO $413
I included shipping in the price and prices came from KOA.
Except the Shield Guard Jian. That's the total price from LK Chen factory to the US.
You freaking rock, Shad!
That flawless transition is 🤌
You have to notice that the 2x4s which you were cutting with the $300 katana actually had weak points near where you hit (on the underside). It's pretty obvious from the camera's view, and that's what caused the 2x4 to straight up split in half.
What we haven't learned a lot of is sailing during the medieval period. It's as historical as castles, swords, and armor and I would love to learn all about sailing, especially during medieval times. This would be a whole new section of history Shad could give his historical "lessons" on!
shad really liking katanas in recent vids
the cutting test felt real wrong : the two wood pieces clearly were'nt the same. (i don't think that was intentionnal though) Apart from that, I agree that money does not always mean quality.
thank for the upload
PS: shouldn't it be the glorious guillotine moment? it would be consistent.
The $1000 price tag is mostly due to the extra work involved in the pattern welded blade not the fittings. I prefer Euro swords these days. They tend to be better made & more durable for the $. To get a Katana of equal quality it will cost so much more both up front & to maintain. Especially when it comes to sharpening & keeping it in polish. Regardless which type one chooses though mono-steel is almost always going to be tougher & pattern welding will almost always be prettier & more expensive.
What are you on my friend? Cheap well made European swords are like a needle in a haystack, cheap well made katanas are a dime a dozen.
Softer wood with top heavy blade. Kind of expected. A much bigger factor than sharpness or even steel type and tempering.
This video illustrates further, the point made by the highlander movies, the edge of a cheap sword isn't going to give out, like an expensive sword. I'm curious, as to if the have done, the fruit ninja test yet.
The pins (Mekugi) from nicer ones are usually made of bamboo. The top one should be at least in the nice katana. The bottom one might be metal or bamboo depending. It is designed that way to be shock absorbing (which you noted as a favorable part of the katana). They will also break but maintain some integrity of the sword (bamboo will). Which is why you were able to still swing it around despite breaking the pin.
It should and can be replaced. Most basic katana care insists on checking the status of the Mekugi before using them. Especially if the risk of the blade becoming a projectile could harm someone else.
They were designed to be replaceable and to absorb shock/break that way instead of it shooting into your hands.
AKA It's a feature, not a bug.
Dang Tyranth, that fur is looking pretty good on you!
Katana is just a cool sword because movies and anime shows it. It just soft power of culture branding.
Katana is not even a good sowrd for war, it would just break when fighting with other swords of different types. Especially the Carbon infused wootz steel made in ancient India was one of the best sword for wars. It was so good that Arab traders bought thousands of it to sell the European empires to fight wars and earn a lot of profit.
I have a Samurai Sword. My Dad was in the Merchant Navy after WWII, and in the late 1940's he spent a bit of time in Borneo. He met a German ex-pat there, and did a deal with him for some money AND some microscope equipment (slides, bulbs, books etc) for a sword. He brought it home, and kept it for years. When me and my brother discovered it when we were kids, in the 1980's, we asked him about it.
Anyways, in the late 90's when I was a teenager, I was drunk one night home alone, and I went out into the garden with that sword and started messing around with it, pretending to be a swordsman. I chopped some weeds with it, etc. Then, for some reason, I took a swipe at the apple tree. I swiped a branch about as thick as my arm. And the ENTIRE branch just dropped to the ground and I felt almost zero impact or resistance.
I got major worried. Firstly cos my Dad was gonna notice that a branch of his apple tree, containing a good 20-30 half-grown apples, was missing. And second cos I never knew how freaking sharp that blade was! If I'd have accidentally clipped myself with it, I'd have lost a limb.
I hid the branch, went inside and cleaned the blade, and never messed with it again.
A few years back, I asked my Dad about that sword. Asked him if I could have it. He said "Sure, you can have it. It's pretty useless and I'm not sure why you want it.". I said it's just a cool thing, would look great on my wall. He also had a dirk that was very old and had similar markings.
I checked online for weeks trying to find that sword, or one similar, for information on it. The date on the hilt said 1878. I found one similar, that sold for £16000 a few years ago.
Gotta love modern mono steel!
Great job guys, as always! Thanks for a nice review and understandings of sword construction.
To carry on from this video it would be interesting to see a chinese made vs japanese made katana video
Hmm, I wonder exactly where the quality for price cut out limit is for most swords and armor... I'll have to look further into this sometime. Thanks for providing my brain with another random statistics task to do! And thanks for the video, can't wait to finish it!
So basically, I'm buying for 300 if I ever somehow need a Katana
Another day, another Shadiversity katana video
Swords are awesome! Im thinking of getting a propper blade, either eastern or western.
Thank u guys for doing this.
Every blade has its strengths and weaknesses. Its like guns and the ammo they use.
Right tool for the right job!
"What do u want to do with ur blade?" is the most important question to ask urself before buying.
The respawning waterbottles remind me of playing a game with serious lag
You guys are great and I appreciate you
Great to see the new sets in use although I can imagine a new leg coming in to stop the thing propping up the wood from falling over constantly 😂
loved this review😍😍
Not a fuller, but a runnel. The difference is in the width of the groove, which translates to greater or lesser weight reduction. Runnel are thin, and deep. Fullers are wide, and can be either deep or shallow.
This reminds me a guy I saw on YT who paints miniatures and has complained about how much people care about custom bases as opposed to painting quality. He painted the same mini identically and put them on ebay with one having a 15-30 minute custom base. That one sold for 2-3 times the one with the more basic one.
I love the idea of shad and the gang buying like 1,000 pool noodles from a local Walmart and everyone just stares at them
When I see the super steels used in the knife industry today I wonder what kind of swords we could achieve with the same level of research of development.
Wow! I haven’t watched this channel in probably 4 or 5 years and I can’t believe how much it’s changed for the better! Shad you’ve really outdone yourself, excellent video and a superb channel.
It's an absolute fact that money doesn't always buy quality... This is true with anything in life.
Now we only need a couple of pig carcasses and were right into Forged in Fire "it will keal!" territory! Love this format. Really want to see more comparisions of cheap and expensive swords and axes and most of all SPEARS!
You guys need to get like a railroad tie, or something for the wood durability tests. :D
I've got a $100 (USD) katana that I bought years ago, and it's really well made. And I got that from a shop in gatlinburg tennessee. It cuts well, hasn't blunted, it's made of hardened steel that is actually differentially hardened. But, that was $100. Granted, I've never chopped it into wood, just chopped watermelons and various other fruits with it. But, it goes to show that price doesn't always equal quality.
You guys know that all wood even from the same tree has wildly differnt strength, hardness and stiffness right?
Yes, but the test is how well the blade will hold up so that is a variable that's only marginally important. Scuffing one part of the experiment doesn't discount the others, adjustments must be made and that's all.
@@Sunburst_No Its not marginally important.
Nice to know a cheap $300 Katana I bought almost 2 decades ago (At a local store that closed down 5ish years later) is good enough... now I just gota figure out how to solve that rattling
Love what you guys do. Why didn't you cut the same piece of wood, though? That could have played a huge part in what you were feeling, as well as the wood breaking.
Lol the All-Stars shoes with the period costume!
Remember, at the end of the day
Having something functional to fight with is always better than having nothing at all
The "reverb" in the $1000 katana may be because of the steel. The less expensive swords steel is probably softer overall & thus has more give/springiness meaning it dissipated more of the energy in the blade than the $1000 did due to it having a more rigid blade.
But that's just my guess.
It would seem a softer steel would absorb more of it’s own shock back into it? Idk either tho lol
@@Trash2000s That's definitely what I'm thinking and from experience that seems true...but it's possible it could be blade harmonics or other factors. Without handling the swords it's just speculation really.
I was thinking the same.
I hope you guys do episodes on Chinese swords and maybe Southeast Asian swords specifically Filipino swords, from your northern neighbor from the Philippines, all in all good episode mates!
Having visited a sword maker in Japan I can tell you first hand that "authentic" Japanese swords are garbage, but they were the best they could do with what they had. The guy who owned the shop said, "The only thing good about a katana is the lore". I would argue that is true with all traditional swords. Without the lore, most if not all swords are probably garbage. I would be willing to make a bet that most swords could not compete with an OKC M9 bayonet (which I am sure are 100% illegal in Australia).
Thank you Shad and team for keeping the lore alive.
The only thing for me and the belief that money buys quality as often been proved correct for me. I would rather trust buying a $500 sword then buying a $100 sword. Because the fact is in either case you won't know the product until you actually have it, and I'd sooner trust that a more expensive sword is made better quality than a $100 sword.
But if you happens to be a careless person the higher prices are better avoided. I do not own any swords but I do have various stuff normal people have and I am indeed a careless person. Things break or get lost, better not waste too much money. 😆
The plank he split in half had damage at the bottom, and that's exactly where it broke.
Those first few 2x4s had something wrong with them. They way they broke is not normal.
I've spent money and have gotten a good stainless steel sword that holds and edge well and is spring tempted and for the same amount of money, have purchased a carbon steel sword and the high carbon steel sword didn't gold an edge as well. It's more about where you buy from. Right now I have a braveheart stainless steel claymore and it's spring tempered and holds a good edge. I have bought the aragorn ranger sword in the past and it was stainless steel and was spring tempered. I tested it out on my safe at the time and that sword is not broken or bent to this day. Even the anduril I bought.