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The best use a European could get out of a Japanese sword is showing off to everyone how rich he is.

I predict 2 answers 1. It depends 2. Context

I would, does that count? ;)

11:15 so essentially, historically speaking, Weeaboos didn't exist until the 16th century.

"And then your stuck with something with no point at all..." Not only a description of what could happen to a katana that hit armor, but the description of most comment threads involving katana vs. longsword.

I don't play Raid Shadow Legends but I'm grateful to them for having sponsored half the Internet.

It's like using an AK in a NATO country back in the early years of the cold war. You can but all that trouble acquiring that sword would make you less inclined to use it really.

I could imagine if they got one, they might have used it as a dress sword, simply because it’s pretty and exotic and obviously well made and expensive (and thus both a status symbol and a conversation starter).

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The "stances" are also largely interchangeable..

One comment about the differential hardening: Most swords in europe up till the industrial revolution were typically shallow hardening steels. Most of these you would never actually fully harden regardless of your quenching medium resulting in a differential heat treat and thusly a hamon. However it is rather more obvious in Katanas because the polishing in japanese swords is a very technical thing which was appraised since the 11th century and thusly has been worked on continuesly. So european swords would also reveal a hamon often times if polished in the way of the japanese tradition simply based on the materials used, meaning shallow hardening steel. The hamon would not be as purposeful typically but it would definitely be there. A great source regarding this topic if people are interested is Ilya from the channel "that works" who has a video about common misconceptions regarding medieval types of steel.

I mean.. Don't see why not, if there was nothing else.

I've read about a 13th century French Knight named Jean d’Alluye that used a Chinese Jian sword on the battlefield and the sword was buried with him

"Japanese sword-o-philes" It's okay to say Weeaboo Matt

On the battlefield is a tough one, but I'm sure someone could justify going to battle with it as their side weapon. In noble life? Abso-fucking-lutely. If a knight had a katana, it would be such an oddity and the other nobles would totally be jealous of his strange but familiar weapon. If a knight ended up having one, it would be a status symbol for sure. There's no doubt in my mind that he would wear it around when doing non-combat stuff at the very least.

I think any knight who would consider wearing a messer or falchion, especially in civilian wear (and, it has to be said, sometimes in war too (I don't get it either)) would at least give it a passing glance. It's a well made blade, and it's not completely alien to what he was used to. I think the biggest reservation would be that dinky guard, and, of course, the moment he saw it bend, he might throw it away because he'd probably just expect a spring temper. But yeah, the longsword (or arming sword) is just a better weapon for the context of a medieval knight. Go figure ;P

I could see a knight getting his hands on a Japanese sword, flex testing it, bending it, and then selling a mostly straight sword for pub coin.

Few things to address in the video; By the 15th century, Japan was massively exporting swords in China and other parts of Asia, even more during the 16th century, when few swords arrived in Europe as well. The blade shape of Japanese swords could roughly recall to a Swiss sabre or a Kriegmessers, so it won't have been an extremely exotic weapon. Also while we are use to classic style of katana, it should be said that some points had a more slender tip which would have increase its use in armored fightings - things like osoraku zukuri, okissaki and nagamaki/naginata naoshi blades. To me this point is of little relevance, as both Knights and Samurai had weapons optimized to deal with armor: spears, bows, guns, daggers and the like. Moreover, European blades were definitely not as spring as their modern replica counterpart. Most of the swords even in Europe, up until the 17th century, were made with iron or low carbon steel core - for reference, see the analysis of A. Williams. Even some types of rapiers show these structure, and we could read how storta swords were made in Brescia, Italy, in the 17th century thansk to the Catastico Bresciano, in which a iron core is used. You can't have much springness in the sword if the core is of low carbon steel as the material won't react to hardening and quenching. I have elaborated more here: www.quora.com/Would-the-Japanese-forging-techniques-have-worked-in-Medieval-Europe-if-it-was-introduced-to-the-blacksmiths-there-If-so-how-would-European-swords-have-looked-like/answer/Luca-Nic-1?ch=10&share=dd5a5e27&srid=3z2sJ Most European swords would have had very similar properties to Japanese ones, with a softer edge. Speaking of edge hardness, yes it is indeed a over generalization as a softer edge would be simply more easy to bend and roll comapred to a harder one, which will chip under heavier stress. However, a rolled edge is still a critical and potential point of failure, and such thing would happen more frequently with softer edge. Still, without considering edge geometry, material and the like. Ultimately, I am afraid to say that concerning the Mongol invasions, there are no sources to back up such claim of Japanese swords consistenlty breaking or chipping. There are no historical sources that say so, and while one could argue that the lamellar suits available to Jin and Song dynasty were more comphrensive, Japanese armors of the period were not entirely different from that. Most importantly, we do see Korean and Chinese troops wearing mostly coats and very few lamellar suits during the invasion of Japan, so if anything, such armor was not present there. It is a very weird statement to claim, that the very same Japanese swords which are referred to "double helmet splitter" in the chronicles of 100 years before failed against padded and lighter form of armor. I also think you are not entirely correct on the point snapping. A Japanese tip like the one you are showing is just more resilient due to profile and thickness.

So, to summarise: Could they? Yes, because it looks enough like a sword that they could probably be able to figure out how to use it. Would they? Not if they had a choice, because there are enough differences to make it not interchangeable, and so have to be used differently, from the swords they were more used to. Which would be a huge disincentive in life-and-death situations such as warfare, where you'd want to use something that you're most familiar with (which is not to say necessarily the most effective) as much as possible.

Answer: No. There were no machine gun barrels to slice.

"Why does this Messer not have a crossguard?" I do imagine that it'd probably get rehilted into being a kriegsmesser.

It's always fun to imagine, during a zombie apocalypse or something, a chap breaking into matt's house and finding all those weapons: " awright, let's see... wooooooo! woooooHOHOHOHOHOHOHO"

The Mongal’s where at war with....um? Everyone... might be the simplest explanation

You talked a lot about the similarities between the European longsword and the tachi, but it seems to me that the Swiss saber is even closer, with a very similar blade profile. I’d love to hear you compare those two. Given what you said about the longsword being more suitable than the tachi for the European context, what advantages would the Swiss saber bring for a European soldier?

The correct question is: Would a SAMURAI Sword use a Medieval KNIGHT?

Early Japanese swords were strait. As the horse warrior, referred to as "Kyuba no Mishi" that is, The way of the Bow and the Horse, still practiced in Yabusami, mounted archery. Later blades became curved for mounted slashing. To equate the tactics of east and west is difficult and the periods differ. Best seen in Master Yamaoka Tesshu's, No Sword School, the last of the era.

There is A tomb at a subsidiary of the metropolitan museum of art in New York showing a Chinese sword at the hip of I believe a French Knight

I’d love to see a test of how the cutting and thrusting performance of the katana compares to a type XIIa or type XVIIIa longsword. The type XVa longsword is essentially a thrust oriented sword, not really a cut and thrust design (Ie: Its super pointy to penetrates mail better, and gives up the blade mass to cut well anywhere near the tip). So let’s see a comparison of Japanese vs European cut and thrust hand-and-a-half swords. I hear a lot of sword people say that the pointier European sword will thrust better. But I note that it also flexes on the thrust - so maybe the thrusting performance is similar ? I also hear a lot of sword people say the katana cuts better at the tip. For a type XVa - I agree. But a type XIIa or XVIIIa ? It has less mass near the tip than the Katana, but also have a wider thinner cross section at the tip, and 4-5 extra inches of lever-arm to generate tip speed. Come-on Matt - do a test for us !

Matt Easton: shall we say “Japanese swordophiles”? Me: WEEBS!”

Love this sort of content Matt, you're spoiling us!!

Question: Was the "Folded 1000 times" thing misinterpreted from being folded into 1000 layers? That just takes 10 folds. And was also done elsewhere, but that's beside the point.

Today’s drinking game: Take a shot every time Matt says “the fact is...” Take a double every time that fact is simple!

I love the soulless look in Matt’s eyes when he shills that silly game.

just wanna say your japanese is getting better. i appreciate the efforts you take to learn the way the local culture/people would have pronounced certain things. cheers matt

"can be used relatively comfortably in one hand" says the epic man who can wield a greatsword in one hand and do longsword moves with a sledgehammer...

Excellent video Matt! I'm definitely a katana enthusiast, but i am in mo way one of those kind of katana enthusiasts. Lol

Always insightful. Keep it up.

The biomechanics of a human wielding a sharpened steel bar would be about the same (allowing for any variation in stature) assuming the bars are about the same, regardless of the bar's country of origin. It turns out swords are a lot like people: the similarities are more important than the differences. But... Would a Samurai use a European longsword? ;-)

Man, you do a great job on these videos. I've got a MA in History, so I appreciate the lengths you go to reference sources and be transparent about your videos. I'm no expert on your subject, but you're a damn good scholar IMHO. I trust you as a source of information and look forward to your next video. Cheers!

Before watching this video: Would a medieval knight use a katana? Sure, but not against opponents clad in metal.

It sounds to me like it would be swordy enough that there's no accounting for the taste of the individual who picked it up.

Pre-Samurai Japan is always interesting. It's fairly obscure compared to the more wideliy known latter part of their history. I don't know what kind of applicable information is available on the topic, so there may not be enough for you to do a video on, seeing as how you tend to focus more on the weapons instead of general history. If there "was" something for you to talk about there, I'm quite sure that I'm far from the only person who'd love to watch that video! ^_^

Regarding the anti-armor context especially, the longsword would also seem to have the additional advantage over the katana in that the longsword's cross-guard can be used for percussive, and potentially penetrative, strikes when the weapon is gripped upside down (especially as per your earlier "weirdest weapons of the middle ages" video), whereas the tsuba wouldn't seem to be as great at that.

Lives on an island ✅ Experienced feudalism ✅ Were empires ✅ Have swords ✅ Have armour ✅ Warred with china ✅ Britain and japan are the same

But can you throw a katana pommel? Like really a genuine question.

I suppose the japanese sword could be quite useful to a mounted knight when facing unarmored foes, in much the same way that a 19th century cavalry sabre would have been.

I've re-watched this recently and I thought that there is a slightly different way in which a medieval knight might use a Japanese sword, perhaps even more likely than there is another way the answer to such a question is also an "yes, but caveat". Perhaps not a historical Japanese sword bought from japan made for japan, but a commissioned Japanese-design sword made using european metallurgy rather than japanese, with minor tweaks such as a bit more aggressive tapers and finer tips. For example, a tachi inspired on the famous Kogarasu Maru blade (doubled sided, obviously longer, point reminds me of viking/migration era sword).Or something based on anything by Masamune (all genuine surviving samples I've seen have rather pointy tips already). In short, I think they'd have been happy with the general design, but made from European steel.

When a question like this comes up, i can't help but recall that scene from Highlander 1, when Connor is presented with the "Toledo Salamanca Broadsword" and when asked what it is, he replies with......."A sword....." :D

"Sword against armor" comes up an awful lot, as if the sword were the only weapon available. Surely, when facing heavy armor, a warhammer would surpass any type of sword, and still afford someone the use of a shield. It just seems like swords, of all kinds, are a bit too focused-on. Not having a wooden haft, they do tend to survive the ages better, so we have better physical examples of them. And, since swords were largely a rich-man's game, all of the combat-related literature of the day (also a rich-man's game) would have featured them more heavily than 'lower status weapons'. Like, if a person owns high-end sports cars, they are more likely to want to study up on high-end sports cars...as opposed to tractors or delivery trucks.

The fact is, a sword is a sword.

Before watching the video, my answer. Sure, knights used lots of different weapons. I'm sure they could find a use for the katana/tachi. I'd guess they'd try to use it similarly to a falchion/messer.

The proper answer is of course: They would have loved the katana, because it cuts through plate armour like paper... :P (no, I am not being serious...)

That's actually a very good question: Would a Knight of the 13th Century use a period correct Katana? My thoughts on this would that they probably would if they had come into possession of one, especially if they had taken notice of all that it was capable of doing

Damn that Sallet is sleek. Love these kinds of videos keep'em coming

You should check out and review a documentary called "Knights" it's pretty accurate but I'd bet you could make a lot of content picking it apart

What about the inverse? A samurai with a "knightly" sword (or other European sword)? (Also, thoroughly enjoyed the video. I had forgotten about the stories of Mongol armor and snapping tachi tips.)

So no tip, no cross guard, only one edge, more likely to break, less reach...I'd rather have a quarterstaff.

I have zero experience on armored warfare, so NO comment in it Fencing with katana is not different from fencing with long sword. The main difference is the length, which make katana somewhat more applicable for 1 handed use. One seldomly blocks with cross or attacks with attack with back edge, so these are minor things. From the group: side sword side sword+dagger side sword+buckler sabre rapier rapier+dagger long sword katana. Long sword and katana are the most similar weapons by large in context of shirt fencing.

Thanks for the video Matt! One additional consideration that I'm curious about: are differentially-hardened blades easier or more difficult to maintain wrt weathering or rusting? For instance, in a long military campaign where essentials such as blade oil and smithy supplies might be sparse, is one type of blade more or less ideal?

I imagine it depends on the opponent and situation. If we’re talking katana vs gambeson or brigantine I could see the knight using a katana very effectively with minimal effort. Times and cultures change but humans remain relatively the same so I could see a knight trying it out for the novelty factor and using it if he liked the cutting capacity while keeping his dagger 🗡 and a mace or pole arm for armored opponents. I could see the knight adding a cross guard over the disc guard (or replacing it) though for added hand protection. As you mentioned it depends what the knight would be most likely to encounter and armed himself accordingly.

Hypothetically a Knight was a trained killer, give him a sword and he will use it. A Langmesser is in concept a Katana, a Knife is a Tanto ...instruments people used to train with swords and lances, and armour...a warrior.would have little problem . simple opinion. ...Would a Roman Legionnaire use a Katana? hell yes. Get armed, accomplish the job, done.

Knights used falchions so yes. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

Differential hardening is very popular in antique period done in different way by slicing with red hot blade through mound of wet clay or dirt.

Thinking about the man at arms with a Langmesser... I feel like if I were to provide my own equipment in a medieval war, I'd want myself as well protected as possible, so I'd be much more willing to stretch myself financially for the best armor I can buy and just use whatever sword I already owned for protecting myself against bandits. Then maybe later I could upgrade later. Especially when that weapon is my secondary weapon anyway. I'm already hoping I never have to draw that sword. I'll use my primary polearm as much as possible thanks.

EXCELLENT video!!!

Apropos longswords, I would love to see a video of Mat discussing feders, particularly how good they are as an longsword analogue for training and sparring.

The only time a medieval knight would use a katana would be if he somehow got magically teleported to Sengoku period Japan, met a daimyo, and served as his retainer to fight.

Matt pronounced tachi correctly ! \^^/ This is the cherry on top of a very very interesting video (as usual, but still worth mentioning). n_n

As the katana, held close to the neck for a closeup, slices the carotid neatly as Matt gesticulates spasmodically while lecturing...

Without having watched more than the intro, I'm gonna guess probably not. 14th-15th century longswords were quite specific in that they tapered a lot into a very sharp and thin and pointy tip so they could thrust it into small gaps in the plate. The Japanese swords are more about cutting than thrusting and you can't really cut through plate. Someone like a Man-at-arms who'd be less likely to face off heavily armoured opponents on the frontline and instead fight people in gambesons might have used it. I'd say, if the person would have used a Messer they probably would have used a japanese style sword, too.

Here's a couple of thoughts I've had about modifying a katana. Has anyone ever seen a Katana with any kind of European style handguard? Whether that be a medieval period or Renascence and so on. Also has anyone tried to sharpen it's blunt side? Not changing the curve of the blade in any way, just adding another sharp edge.

Not medieval, but later definitely. In the 1670-s Transylvania a lad named Thomas Kapust used an original Katana blade and even decorated it in his own style. www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/17230-japanese-sword-with-european-mounting/

Question for potential video: How do you feel that someone with an extensive background in certain other martial arts would translate to HEMA/Fencing? Obviously being in good physical condition is a positive, but for example, how do you think an orthodox western boxer who is drilled to naturally fight with their "weak" side foot and hand forward would adapt to fencing with saber or rapier where the strong side is usually forward to help with reach and other things? Or how perhaps how would an experienced olympic-style wrestler who is used to keeping their strong foot as the lead adapt to using a medieval arming sword and shield or a longsword where the opposite might be preferred? Do you think having these natural instincts would have disadvantages to one trying to learn certain weapons? If so, how much would it matter. And if not, how do you think these instincts would affect learning otherwise or what advantages could it bring?

I thought of something you could've mentioned, although someone else may have mentioned it, but it is the differences in resources. From some historical accounts I have heard, steel in Japan was far less available than in other parts of the world. This came to mind when you were holding both swords in your hand and I thought about how the European sword you held appeared overall bigger compared to the Japanese sword. It may not seem like that big of a deal if a sword required some more steel, but the cost of it could be incredible for Japanese society at that time. So, what I think could be worth thinking about is how Europeans could develop different swords for different purposes where as the Japanese changed their fighting techniques to adapt to armor. For example, I trained a little bit in kenjutsu and their was lots of emphasis towards avoiding the enemy instead of blocking the enemy like seen in fencing, reducing the amount of steel on steel contact. The medieval knight would need some basic information about what the Japanese swords were made for. As far as I know anyways, Japanese swords aren't designed to be armor beaters, but I could be entirely wrong. I thought I was going somewhere good with this but I forgot now the point I was wanting to make.

Does the bend/non-bend influence power transfer when stabbing? I would think a less flexible sword loses less energy bending

Many arming and long swords that I've studied show soft cores with hardened edges that bend and set as well. From the studies I read and done until the late 1400 early 1500 blades had little spring back and would set more often than spring back, with the exception of swords made for kings/nobles that were made to be of highest quality and not common military weapons.

I think the reason knights used messers and falchions, and they might consider the katana, is the fact that most warfare wasn't field battles. Many experts know this (I'm sure you do as well), and will point to sieges. However, even more common than sieges was chevelche (small war) where you ride into a village, kill some peasants and steal some supplies then ride away before your enemies actual army could show up. This is the sort of action where a falchion and even a katana would shine, when you could easily expect to face no armor.

They'd probably use it about as often as they used their arming swords, so practically never. Also probably not as effectively, if they wanted a horseback weapon to use one handed, there's better choices for that, and if they needed a backup weapon when dismounted they'd want something more pointy and with a bigger pommel for half swording and ending them rightly.

What we call a "katana" is the daito (long(er) sword, compared to the shoto), and the wakizashi is the shoto (short sword). The word'wakizashi" itself means companion sword (if I remember correctly). When you wear the daito and the shoto together it's called a daisho (which literally means long-short, or something like that). About using the daito with one hand: yes you can hold the daito with one hand, and yes, you can even swing it with one hand, but you cannot fight effectively with the daito one-handed in my opinion (that's what the shoto is for, and it can still be used two-handed for even more power). Swinging your sword one-handed at someone whilst riding by on a horse doesn't equate to using a sword one-handed in a melee (when you make a strike from on a horse, you don't really even swing the weapon, you just kind of let the weapon run into your target using your horse to power the blow, if I'm not mistaken).

He's gonna have to do a lot adjustments, that's for sure.

Captain Context! Wrestling is an important strategy for both, but perhaps more for the Japanese. Half swording was less common. A fragile sword point was of prime consideration, thus a shorter sword or dagger was used more often to give the “coup de grace” after an opponent was forced into submission via grappling. Textual evidence of this is cited in many epics like the “Tail of the Heike” from the late 12th century. The designs of the Japanese and European long swords reflect the different types of strengths & weaknesses of their respective armors. European knightly armor had better overall protection against sword cuts, but less so to thrusts. Japanese armor had different areas of vulnerability that a cut or slashing attack could exploit. Examples such as chords and fasteners to the helmet, shoulder and torso were targeted to compromise those areas. Other soft points that had less protection include the arm pits, face and throat, the inside of the legs and arms. Again the sword was useful to injure, maim or disable an opponent before grappling him. On a side consideration, a European Knight could expect to be ransomed with little loss of face if he was defeated. I do not know if this has any bearing on the primary topic. Also as Matt likes to point out, the sword in both Europe and Japan was primarily a sidearm, a back up weapon. The bow, spear or other pole arm was often the primary weapon of a war.

They would work well from horseback due to the curve of the blade like a saber of later vintage.

Not just differetially hardened, but also made with two different steels of different carbon levels. The steel of the core and spine is closer to mild steel then the harder steel of the edge.

A minor nitpick: Tachi, not katana, were used by the Japanese, to fight (and win against) the Mongol invasion. My opinion: Katana, being curved, is superior at cutting and superior from horseback. It also has better edge alignment. The small crossguard is a moot point if one is wearing gauntlets, which medieval knights did. European swords very slowly did develop a shape closer to the katana, ie, curved blade, but it took them a lot longer to get there.

that was way more than i expected

Maybe.. but there isn't a good tip for grappling. It can stab, but not pointy like a spear or bullock knife

Where could I buy a katana like the one you have? Especially as I live in the UK? Thanks

Great video. You may have mentioned it, but another thing to consider is... The people are professional warriors. You don't just switch up a weapon you've trained with all your life with something you haven't. Not when your life is on the line.

Matt Easton kicking asses in 3...2.... Lol!!

I couldn't quite understand what you mean by the hard edge being more brittle until later you explained the tip example. I thought it was like having a block of soil that crumbles if you grip it too hard in your hands. Here's what I think a medieval knight would do with a katana: "That baby is not seeing going to see action! Paid good money for it and it's going in my sword collection for showing-off only to my noble friends." For other topics to discuss, how about comparing different specialized polearms between Europe and Asia? That could be interesting to think about what each side would think about the weapons being used in war.

Slightly off topic: beautiful sallet! Can you tell me what was used to get that blued finish? Thanks

If the katana edge is hardened but the back is soft, why doesn't the edge break when the back metal if the sword bends?

Hi Matt, really interesting and educational Video. 👍 One question: How good was Samurai Armor in medieval Japan and Later? Are there similiaritys to types of european Armor?

Matt :"Would a Medieval Knight use a Samurai Sword?" Me : "That depends...." LMAO.

I'd love to see a similar video on polearms

General answer (that is, except for some eventuality) is not. Medieval knights were exposed to middle eastern curved-single edged sword for centuries and never favored it over the straight, double edged sword. And that means another thing: curved, single edged swords must have been also quite effective against chainmail, as the moors didn't switched either.

I remember as a teen a friend bringing a WWII bring back Katana to spar with me using a Sabre. By the time we were done he had a saw.

Can you do a video explaining the highly curved tachi and why that was so useful for that period/armor? I think japanese weapons are very underrated. they were good enough to defeat the mongols, while many europeans were not able to do the same.

Yeah why not. I would. The Katana ain't a bad close quarters sword. I would spend most of my time on horseback & with a spear anyway.