49 replies to this topic

[SailorMoon]

A true nihontou is only created by master craftsmen, with traditional methods of forging...

you can purchase cheaper (but still strong) nihontou for 800$~1000$... but true nihontou's strength katana is only available for 3000$~20,000$

For cheap katana for cutting simple object, this can be purchased for as low as 100$ (Musashi is good brand for cheap but wel made simple cutters...) but price changes for true hamon and steel forging methods, as well as carbon steel percent and other things.

I wish to study iaido some day... so I know this subject well~~ （￣ー￣）

[DanDoesWork]

def the sword only if it was made in japan by their experts (: them shits be cutty

[leurz]

Both of those weapons suck for zombies. Nobody in here has the experience to repeatedly slice through freshly made zombie skulls with a katana, and an axe would get stuck in no timeI would take the sword and give myself and my comrades a swift death.

...or if the outbreak is still small I would use it to rob a gun shop for a reliable weapon or an orphanage for reliable decoys.

Edited for grammar X.X

Edited by leurz, 04 March 2011 - 10:32 PM.

[AyoForYayo]

Sword.
The axe would be too heavy..

[luvsmyncis]

Both of those weapons suck for zombies. Nobody in here has the experience to repeatedly slice through freshly made zombie skulls with a katana, and an axe would get stuck in no timeI would take the sword and give myself and my comrades a swift death.

...or if the outbreak is still small I would use it to rob a gun shop for a reliable weapon or an orphanage for reliable decoys.

What would you suggest then? Killing a freshly made zombie would be hard with any weapon other than a gun, if you think about it. Once the zombie's been out in the sun for a little while, though, I imagine he gets softer and by that point a blunt object to the brain would be all you need. Baseball bat. Brick. Miniature poodle. You name it.

But as for the choice we've been given, I'd have to go with the ax. I don't think it would get stuck in a zombie. Zombies aren't made out of wood. Once you strike them, the blade would get coated with blood and slip right out. You can rest the ax on your shoulder when you take a step back from the vile mess you've created and catch your breath. The handle on a sword is only big enough for your hand grip, so if you rest a sword on your shoulder, it's the blade making contact with you so you run the risk of cutting yourself and inviting the zombie virus into your system.

If you find yourself with neither an ax, or a sword, or a brick. Run for it.

[SailorMoon]

What would you suggest then? Killing a freshly made zombie would be hard with any weapon other than a gun, if you think about it. Once the zombie's been out in the sun for a little while, though, I imagine he gets softer and by that point a blunt object to the brain would be all you need. Baseball bat. Brick. Miniature poodle. You name it.

But as for the choice we've been given, I'd have to go with the ax. I don't think it would get stuck in a zombie. Zombies aren't made out of wood. Once you strike them, the blade would get coated with blood and slip right out. You can rest the ax on your shoulder when you take a step back from the vile mess you've created and catch your breath. The handle on a sword is only big enough for your hand grip, so if you rest a sword on your shoulder, it's the blade making contact with you so you run the risk of cutting yourself and inviting the zombie virus into your system.

If you find yourself with neither an ax, or a sword, or a brick. Run for it.

If you mean blade would slip out of handle when coated with blood, this is not true... the katana's tang is tightly fitted to the tsuba and is secured by two pegs with the handle~~ katana is made to be covered with blood...

katana are perfectly weighted, the center of gravity is on handle of the sword... there is no need for resting the blade upon shoulders... but if one has to, katana only has one sharp side... other is blunt, and easy/safe to rest upon shoulder.... but the sword should be put back into it's saya, so there is no danger of any kind from the blade as it is now protected. ( 　ﾟ,_ゝﾟ)

[Narna]

If you mean blade would slip out of handle when coated with blood, this is not true... the katana's tang is tightly fitted to the tsuba and is secured by two pegs with the handle~~ katana is made to be covered with blood...

katana are perfectly weighted, the center of gravity is on handle of the sword... there is no need for resting the blade upon shoulders... but if one has to, katana only has one sharp side... other is blunt, and easy/safe to rest upon shoulder.... but the sword should be put back into it's saya, so there is no danger of any kind from the blade as it is now protected. ( 　ﾟ,_ゝﾟ)

Bias because you are Japanese (I assume...)

Fireman's Axe FTW.

[Sage]

Samurai sword requires a lot more finesse than an axe, and you aren't chopping down any barricades with a samurai sword. I'm an axe girl till I die.

My priority is making an escape, not killing everything I see.

Edited by cuddlydemon, 09 March 2011 - 02:36 AM.

[Waser Lave]

Do you has that strength? Wait... of course you do you are a robot and are not going to be affected by the Zombie Horde anyway, they are after brains not CPU's.... So I will rephrase that to "Does the average person have that sort of strength?"

Zombies tend to be softer than normal people (decomposition would tend to make them quite squishy) so it would require less strength to perform an equivalent slice.

[warzet]

Axe. Cos hacking through a zombie's head is the way to go.

[ilovepolkadots]

In rebuttal of some comments:

Sure, you can still swing it, but for how long can you swing it, and how quickly can you start each swing. You need to BUILD the momentum in order for it to work. A real samarai blade does not need to be forced through and object, the blade is that finely honed it should easily slice through skin and bone.

going with the general cult trend that zombies are killed by mashing up their brain matter, i would ask whether this blade could stay honed after being forced through the skull over and over?

i can use the splitter for an hour straight - but that thing is pretty heavy. a regular axe i feel i could use indefinitely - for sure there would be some soreness, but after the hurricanes we have here on the coast i have chopped wood for days on end without a problem

the decision for me was really more toward "go with what you know"
and i have quite a lot of confidence in using an axe

[jonahfinn]

swords-plural. Easier to slash at zombies if you're ambidextrous

[Drakonid]

Gosh, anyone who chose a sword is a nerdy idiot. Yes, swords may look awesome and cut through bodies, but you don't have the skills to use it(stop thinking you're fucking samurai who can go over a horde of bad guys and defeat them); and you don't have to cut zombies in two, just smash their brains.
A light axe would do better in the situation, since anyone with one neuron would bash instead of hacking.
So yeah, the best idea is to run and hit any zombie that gets in the way.
If I could pick any weapon(excluding firearms), I'd probably choose a titanium bat.

[Pavement]

Neither, I'll take a crossbow

[Seaner]

You can keep an axe sharp with a file or even a stone if need be. Where are you gonna get water stones to maintain and polish an edge on that sword?

Gotta think long term here.

[esilim]

the sword
by specifying which kind of axe and which kind of sword, you made it easy...

only one of those two is really even designed to be a weapon

[Sage]

Gosh, anyone who chose a sword is a nerdy idiot. Yes, swords may look awesome and cut through bodies, but you don't have the skills to use it(stop thinking you're fucking samurai who can go over a horde of bad guys and defeat them); and you don't have to cut zombies in two, just smash their brains.
A light axe would do better in the situation, since anyone with one neuron would bash instead of hacking.

Thank god somebody else knows that...

Logically speaking, in ANY kind of apocalypse you don't want a weapon; you want a tool that will serve as a weapon when you need it. Besides, you don't need to behead anything OR chop the skull open. You just need to crack the zombies hard enough with the flat, or the butt, of an axe to at least knock them down, if not kill them. Most weapons aren't made to KILL, specifically, they're made to make the other guy stop fighting you.

I'd rather have a hatchet than a fire axe, personally, and a baseball bat above all else, but a fire axe vs. a samurai sword? Axe.

[ilovepolkadots]

Mashing brain matter? A simple beheading works too you know

O.O
in my frightening zombie nightmare world they would still be able to bite

[luvsmyncis]

O.O
in my frightening zombie nightmare world they would still be able to bite

You're not alone. A zombie is not a vampire. Simply beheading it won't work. The brain must be destroyed.

[Persuasion]

YOU. (not a trained professional) can't slice through a zombie x.x I couldn't even slice through a rabbit if I wanted to x.x

I would take a mini gun

[luvsmyncis]

YOU. (not a trained professional) can't slice through a zombie x.x I couldn't even slice through a rabbit if I wanted to x.x
I would take a mini gun

A mini gun was not one of the options. And when it comes down to a life and death situation, you better be prepared to slice through a rabbit. You never know about those little fuckers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCI18qAoKq4

[Waser Lave]

YOU. (not a trained professional) can't slice through a zombie x.x I couldn't even slice through a rabbit if I wanted to x.x

It would probably give you a bit more incentive if the rabbit was six foot tall and insatiably trying to eat your brains.

[Lychee]

I'd follow Max Brooks' advice (at least, I think it was him - I read a lot of zombie stuff) and take a shovel instead of an axe or sword. More lightweight, can bash as well as stab and has other purposes.

If I had to go with one of the poll choices...the axe. There's plenty of situations where an axe would be more useful than a sword.