The Katana
One of the most known swords in the world is the “katana”. The weapon is one of the traditional Japanese swords (Romaji: nihonto) worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan, also commonly referred to as a “samurai sword”.
The authentic Japanese sword is made from a specialized Japanese steel called “Tamahagane” which consist of combinations of hard, high carbon steel and tough, low carbon steel. There are benefits and limitations to each type of steel. High-carbon steel is harder and able to hold a sharper edge than low-carbon steel but it is more brittle and may break in combat. Forgers use these details when making a sword.
Still, there are many myths that were build around the katanas, about their forging, their construction, the ability to cut and so on. One of the many “romantic” myths was screened in The Bodyguard movie with Kevin Costner and Whitney Huston. The scene (linked above) depicts Kevin dropping a silk scarf on the edge of a katana and it cut in half by itself.
Regarding to this specific matter, silk does not have the weight to press down on the edge of a katana and slice itself. The only way to do that is to pull the silk across the edge, not just dropping it.
There are MANY things that can be said about the katanas, but inspite of all the myths and lore, the popularity of the sword or its true history the Japanese katana remains one of the most beautiful and majestic cutting edge weapons created by mankind, therefore it shall be regarded as such.
Photo source: TriVector
