I have in mind a new sword. This sword has four cutting blades, think like a double-edged sword, but two of them, perpendicular to each other. It looks like it would be a thrusting weapon, which it could do just fine, but I want it to slice. I was contemplating something like several tiny hinges. For example if you would slash, the penetrating blade and its parallel would remain rigid and unyielding while the perpendicular blades fold back against the opposite blade. Hopefully this would allow a good slicing weapon for multiple directions without the user having to turn the blade too much. Practicality isn't quite as important when it comes to "Is this the best weapon for the job," but if there are already existing weapons that would be better, please mention them!
Potential Concerns:
- Would the blades need to be thinner to allow a cleaner cut, resulting in potentially weaker blades that break easily.
- Would it be necessary for a wielder to develop a "slice partially then withdraw" style of combat? I imagine the blade would be significantly thicker at the center because of the three blades and thus harder to cut through things.
- Would creating folding blades be too technical/difficult for a smith or machine to pull off?
- Would hinges decrease the longevity of this weapon, resulting in more maintenance and a higher chance of being outright broken? Is there a better method of creating folding blades?
For this question you can assume that the blade can be "instructed" on which blades to allow to fold via magic/unknown technology, but feel free to analyse how this would work without magic. You can also assume an advanced level of technology but the closer to current Earth, the better. For the rest of the stuff, try to be as close to a real world sword as possible with comparisons. I can only shrug off so many physics facts before people close the book and utter "nonsense" before throwing it into the fire.
BONUS: Can we make this into a whip sword?! That'd be sweet. If not that's fine too.