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Old 10-27-2007, 19:17 PM   #299 (permalink)
troung
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My question is can the katana cut/pierce through plate armor? Katana is best used for slicing lightly armored opponent. Japanese had cloth and leather armor. Katana was great at slicing through those. European knights had chain and plate mail. I doubt katana can slice through metal armor.
I have wondered that as well. People (Russia/Poland) who had the misfortune of having heavy armored shock cavalry on one border and steppe light cavalry on the other ended up using two types of swords the broadsword for armored and giving the guys on the steppe frontier sabers.

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If armour restricted a knight's fighting ability they wouldn't have worn it. Period. Guys have worn these suits and done gymnastics in them. By the 1400's quenched steel armour plates were a remarkable thing.
As a boy I saw a man do a cartwheel in armor.
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