LogFAQs > #896013388

darkknight109 posted...

Mostly it was the stuff I've already gone through - stuff like a tsuba not being a true cross-guard, or the particulars of how the blade operates.

Honestly, having done kendo myself, one of my frustrations with the art in its modern incarnation is it spends a lot of time with shinai and very little with actual blades. Hence my recommendation to add iaido into your training if you're into swords - iaido focuses a lot more on using the sword itself rather than a stand-in. Of course, iaido has its own drawbacks, namely that most schools spend almost no time on two-person exercises or target practice - you really do need both arts to fully understand how a katana operates.

I never said the Tsuba wasn't a "True cross guard" just that a cross guard (and especially a baskett hilt) is better. I will concide I have less experiance using a Katana than a Longsword though. I like sparing too much though to look at something that is pure tequique =P

darkknight109 posted...

As a metallurgist, I can tell you that even shitty ore can be made into a decent final product (and vice versa). Don't be so quick to write off katanas as "softer and easier to break", because in many cases that was not the case (Japanese ore may have been awful compared to its European equivalents, but their smithing techniques were leagues ahead).

I know, hence why Japanese smiths were geniuses!!! Though Masterwork shitty steel is still not as good as Avarage good steel, as they say, shit in, shit out. Now I know they were not likely to just snap and break for no reason (or just dull like someone though longswords do....), Just that incomparason a longsword being made of spring steel is less likely to break or have the same issues that a blade made from a lower quality steel may.
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