Comments on: Katana vs. M2 .50 BMG Machine Gun http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/23/katana-vs-m2-50-bmg-machine-gun/ Firearms not Politics Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:24:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: HerbG http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/23/katana-vs-m2-50-bmg-machine-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-44997 HerbG Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:16:26 +0000 http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/23/katana-vs-m240-machine-gun/#comment-44997 And the significance of this little test is..........? And the significance of this little test is……….?

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]]> By: Nanban Jim http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/23/katana-vs-m2-50-bmg-machine-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-44929 Nanban Jim Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:51:01 +0000 http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/23/katana-vs-m240-machine-gun/#comment-44929 Old, I know, but not everybody has been reading this blog from day 1. My first thought was whether this was a properly made sword or just a shin gunto or other machined sword, but while my Japanese is beyond rusty, it does appear in context that it is a modern, traditionally produced sword. It comes as no surprise that a round designed to penetrate to 3/4-7/8 inches (19-22mm) of "modern" (1930s) hardened steel plate (and ends up spalling thicker plate) will crack the hard edge and bend the soft rear of around 1 inch (25mm) of steel to the breaking point. There's a reason you aren't supposed to parry edge-on, especially with hardened swords, which the direct and glancing hits show very nicely: It isn't just a loss of edge, but the hardened cutting edge will crack and break. Hard=brittle. It's almost surprising that they got any hits at all, I'd love to see how many rounds it took in total. Very difficult to peg such a narrow target edge-on, isn't it? (The camera was at 3/4 angle, but the gun doesn't seem to be, especially considering how that would have biased the test against the sword.) Very nice find. :D Old, I know, but not everybody has been reading this blog from day 1. My first thought was whether this was a properly made sword or just a shin gunto or other machined sword, but while my Japanese is beyond rusty, it does appear in context that it is a modern, traditionally produced sword.

It comes as no surprise that a round designed to penetrate to 3/4-7/8 inches (19-22mm) of “modern” (1930s) hardened steel plate (and ends up spalling thicker plate) will crack the hard edge and bend the soft rear of around 1 inch (25mm) of steel to the breaking point. There’s a reason you aren’t supposed to parry edge-on, especially with hardened swords, which the direct and glancing hits show very nicely: It isn’t just a loss of edge, but the hardened cutting edge will crack and break. Hard=brittle.

It’s almost surprising that they got any hits at all, I’d love to see how many rounds it took in total. Very difficult to peg such a narrow target edge-on, isn’t it? (The camera was at 3/4 angle, but the gun doesn’t seem to be, especially considering how that would have biased the test against the sword.)

Very nice find. :D

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]]> By: G11 http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/23/katana-vs-m2-50-bmg-machine-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-25770 G11 Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:47:09 +0000 http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/23/katana-vs-m240-machine-gun/#comment-25770 Ball ammo or SLAP? Ball ammo or SLAP?

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]]> By: AK™ http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/23/katana-vs-m2-50-bmg-machine-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-5567 AK™ Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:31:09 +0000 http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/23/katana-vs-m240-machine-gun/#comment-5567 They only tested it with the facing edge it looks like...if they would have tested it by firing at the side of the sword..it probably would have failed. They only tested it with the facing edge it looks like…if they would have tested it by firing at the side of the sword..it probably would have failed.

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]]> By: Anton http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/23/katana-vs-m2-50-bmg-machine-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-2422 Anton Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:14:42 +0000 http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/23/katana-vs-m240-machine-gun/#comment-2422 They should try hitting it with the .577 T-Rex Rifle. They should try hitting it with the .577 T-Rex Rifle.

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