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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kail" data-source="post: 1005951" data-attributes="member: 8851">The difference in the "feel" of the European swrod and the katana have nothing to do with the quality of teh waepons balance as a general rule, though you may have some realy bad peices if you hadn't realised that a piece of steel drawn out over a length will seem to weigh more when extended in the hand than it actually does.  The differnce stems from the points of balance.  The katana is balanced more toward the hilt to allow for it to react lightly and keep with the style of "draw cutting" the weapons were used for.  The European blade will be more "blade heavy" because the point of balance is further out on the blade allowing for a much more powerful blow than the katana.  The European blade was made to shear through mail and light plates, then flesh and bone, taking limbs off in the process.  The katana was not designed to hold up to such rigors and thus, could be balanced more lightly.  The style of European fighting kept the blade in motion and used its momentum to allow for a smooth and graceful flow.What you are precieving as finesse in the katana I will wager is a display of skill.  A skilled user of any weapon can make it do seemingly impossable things.  I would doubt that you have seen anyone with actual skill in European style combat, and not sport fencing, use a "long sword".  It too would appear to allow for finesse type movements, but is again, skill.  Yes, finesse is skill, but its application infers a light, deft touch with a great deal of sensitivity.  So, after seeing that you did not possess as much knowledge on the subject as you thought you did, be more cautious next time before you tell someone they should drop out of a conversation, or that they don't know what they are talking about.  Often times, when we do that, we don't know ourselves, and like the precieved weight of your sword, see thing differently than what they really are.</blockquote>

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