This video footage is from one of my favorite Japanese TV shows, known as "Toribia no Izumi" (The Wellspring of Trivia). In this part of the show, the hosts try to "create new trivia" based upon questions they receive from viewers. One viewer wondered which would win: a Japanese katana or a pistol? So based on that inquiry, the hosts try to come up with a "test" to answer the question. Their idea was to shoot a pistol bullet onto a Japanese sword blade and see if it would shatter the blade or damage it in some way. It's hard to believe that someone was willing to risk their sword blade for something as silly as this. But the video is super cool, nonetheless. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3818187790122256202 Enjoy! -ben
a very cleverly designed demonstration... a few mags closer on the slo-mo would have been good, it's difficult to see the exact alignment of the bullet and the blade at the point of impact and that's making me wonder what effect the angle of this alignment would have on the result. did the following weeks episode demonstrate what happens when you put the each weapon into the hands of respective experts? or are they still trying to get the necessary Health + Safety paperwork signed off?
That is a really great vid. Maybe I should go grab the decorator one on my mantle in the basement and chase after a cop LOL. Thats awsome. Who is the swordsman, any clue?
Old news... This has been done before with .50 cal rounds fired from a sustained fire (fixed) machine gun, firing multiple rounds at the blade. The blade sliced several of the rounds quite effectively but as the vibration built up through the blade it eventually snapped - as you'd expect. Swords are designed/intended to cut people, nothing else.
once that gel armor comes out (light way and under 2000$) and i can afford a 10000$ katana... i'm gonna become a vigilante street patroller in milwaukee wisconsin... that way i can absorb bullets with my armor and chop through machine guns with my katana. thats my plan after college graduation if i cant find a teaching job.
I remember both of these vids from some time ago. There is nothing on it that is really surprising to me. Lead is a lot softer than the leading edge of a katana. It doesn't show anything special about the katana IMO. I would be surprised to see different results for the same test done with almost any well made knife. Especially a custom made one with a differentially heat treated blade like a katana. I think the alignment is more important than anything. These are the expected results with perfect alignment of the gun and knife. Angle one of them 5 degrees off and I bet the result is a lot different. Regardless though, its pretty damn cool.
Is it just me, or is the bullet missing it's jacket? That's pretty cool just the same. I like the epic music they have playing, also