The Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency

[Preacher]

Could someone please tell me some of the pros and cons of the katana and the battleaxe as weapons, i'm sure theres a lot of posts on katana, but I would like to know how it compares to a battleaxe and in which situation each would work best in such as against mutiple adversies and how each weapon would be compatiable with different individuals and such.
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"What do you all think will happen on Tuesday, or 6-6-06?"~laubert75

"i think everyone will realize that you are a moron".~Skissors

[Zak Roy Yoballa]

It is my limited understanding that the battle ax is a weapon that needs to be kept in constant motion due to the momentum needed to weild it properly, swooping arcs and such. It was discussed on a show called Conquest on the History Channel. Also, because it is a two handed weapon, no shield could be used so the constant motion of the axe helped in a defensive manner too.

As for the katana, you are probably better off getting that info from one of the other forumites.

Hope this helps.

ZRY
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Zombie, the other, other white meat.

[Bae]

Well a Germanic battle ax are the best two handed battle ax you can get but are heavy and you need momentum and strngth. Any smurai would tink twice befor geting in a fight with a Germanic warrior (if they ever met up) but with with a Katana its light and would make it easy to get around a axmen and start sliceing at the shoulders, elbow, back thigh , back calf and back of the knee. And isnt meant for stabing your try to break your enamy down and unlike comon beliefs a Katana cant slice a limb off easly. A katana is also a multi role weapon and can block also but i'm not sure how it would stand up to a hit from a ax. It usly comes down to skill of the person useing it.

-Bae

[Tron]

Well, if it's just an ordinary dude swinging an axe, up against another ordinary dude with a Katana, and assuming they both have adequate knowledge of how to use their respective weapons...

I imagine that a Katana would be utterly useless in deflecting the blows of an axe head(s). I mean, the Katana, or Dai Katana, are decent weapons, if used properly, but it takes so much more skill.
And, a double-handed axe is heavy. So it would require a constant driving force to keep it from tiring you out too quickly, and to keep up the momentum.
It's a bit similar to a flail, in the sense that you have to build up some force before you can just start swinging.

However, if it was between a Germanic warior, or a barbarian, or a Viking and a Samurai...the samurai's armor wouldn't stand up to the incredible force of the axe, and neither would his sword.


Just my opinion.
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"Let's get ready to rock and roll with the Ramones!"
-End of the Century

[Bae]

[ash_wednesday]

a smart samuri wouldn't block the axe. He would side step out the axe's way and get stabby stabby on the guy.
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alright so a man walks into a bar and sits down.. i forget the punch line but your mothers a whore

Ninjas want to grow up to be just like Chuck Norris. But usually they grow up just to be killed by Chuck Norris.

[Mr Syde]

Well depending on what type of axe you use you can indeed beat a katana. However a skilled swordsman would stand back and stab you out like ash-wednesday said.
If you use a double headed axe (like a vicking axe) you need more strength rather than skill and yes you wuld also have to be pretty quick becuase you have to swing constantly to attack as well as to defend.
A single head axe needs a skilled arm to wield it but some come with armour peircing spikes on the backs and polearm tips which can be used like spears.
A skilled man wielding a katana would be a very tough oponent becuase a katana is a defensive based weapon and experienced swordsmen use it to stab or slash through your guard.
But since an unskilled man would tend to use the katana for its primary slashing role it would be easy to beat aside with an axe.
Once an axe man is close enough he can chop his oppenant down from above and easily smash the skull.
A katana would need more space becuase it has a longer blade whereas an axe can be held closer to the centre where gravity can support a downward strike using the arm as a pivotal point.

So a guy using an axe can beat a katana but he needs a lot o luck and skill. A guy with a katana can slash his way anywhere unless things get tight and he cant swing it so freely. Thats why samurai carried two shorter swords the indoor wakizashi and the little tanto. Which would be used when you did not have so much space.
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Mr Syfe

[ash_wednesday]

Well spoken Mr. Syde. So not only does the actual weapon make a difference but the skill of the weapon holder as well.
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alright so a man walks into a bar and sits down.. i forget the punch line but your mothers a whore

Ninjas want to grow up to be just like Chuck Norris. But usually they grow up just to be killed by Chuck Norris.

[RequiemOfReason]

[Bae]

You can block the ax its just not practical or safe, their is only one technique I can think, your arm as a brace againts the flat end of the katana that way the blade wont break and you can get inside and graple go hand to hand rather than fight like that. And a katana swordsman would have a beter cent than a axman because if you ever see people when their practicing kendo their always in a squat position to have the most power and balance and ax are always off balance because they need a lot of strength more than the katana.

[ruralphalanx]

I find it very hard to believe that a Samurai would even attempt to block an axe with his sword. Swords are really NOT supposed to be used to block pretty much anything. A strike from a large heavy axe would not only wreck the blade (of a katana), but if the blow was hard enough, it could cause severe pain in that arm (maybe even a possible fracture), and then the samurai would be forced to weild his katana with one hand. Which would make him a bit slower (due to the pain) and also since it seems that on foot, katanas were generally 2-handed weapons.

Remember people, axes are HEAVY. They don't just cut flesh, but they bludgeon and smash through bone also. That's why axes are such devastating weapons. Sure, you can cut off an unarmored limb with a katana, but can you smash through a helmet? I think not. Katana's simply don't have enough mass behind them.

Chain-maille is hard to cut through, and lets say we had a German axeman of the high middle ages (lets say from around 1190-ish), covered head to toe in the armor of his time, chain maille, a gambeson, and a helmet. (Plus various other bits I don't feel like naming.)

The axeman would probably be weilding a weapon similar to this.


And if you wanted to go earlier, (like to a Viking era axeman) this is the war axe he may carry.


Most sword's can't cut through chain-maille, (save for swords like the falchion and the like) especially katanas. Katanas were made for taking on relatively lightly-armored opponents.

Plus here's a factoid. Most Samurai didn't use katana's as their primary weapon. Much like in Europe, the sword, with all of it's praise was a secondary weapon. In europe the lance was the 1st weapon, followed by an axe or mace, then a sword. (Some could only afford the lance/sword combination). In Japan, samurai fought on horseback, like the European knights, so they too used a spear as their first, primary weapon. But while mounted, the bow was also favored over the katana.

Even with all the experience in the world it is very hard to get though armor... so in reality, the axeman would be the probable victor. (That is if he is using a long war axe... basically an axe head on a much longer shaft... not any of this "dual sided" nonsense, dual sided axes were rarely used in combat.)

Also, remember guys, fights are not the scripted stuff you see in anime, movies, and on TV. Fights are totally random, you never know what your foe is going to do next. So in truth, it all depends on who gets the lucky hit... Many a peasant killed an armored knight with little more than a wooden club, much like an inexperienced insurgent can kill a highly trained soldier.

[ash_wednesday]

[RequiemOfReason]

[ruralphalanx]

Which is exactly what I wrote earlier... swords WERE sidearms.

[RequiemOfReason]