Tuesday, September 05, 2006
File under Haikiba
It's no secret I'm a huge fan of all things Samurai related (which immediately puts me in some kind of weirdo fan-boy company, I guess). I've always wanted an authentic Japanese katana (Iai-do?), but can't afford one (they cost well over $10k and probably won't sell you one without a list of references anyway, let alone allow an actual one to leave the country).
I've read historical accounts where Samurai split the helmet armor of other Samurai with their swords, that's how strong tempered the blades are. I've wondered if recent blades have the same strength as the ancient ones of legend. I guess a Japanese TV show was wondering as well and decided to put a real blade to the ultimate test.
In short, it won. Against a bullet.
Amazingly, I guess this test wasn't enough. So they tied it against what looks like a .50 cal machine gun.
It withstood six rounds, cutting the ones that struck the front of the blade in half, before it eventually had taken too much damage to withstand the seventh and shattered.
I want one now more than ever.
