What is the most likely shape of a Super Sword? [closed]

Question

I have in mind a bladed weapon that, left unpowered, looks like a "regular" sword, from whatever time period. The appearance of the weapon is important to the story; people need to know that it's a melee weapon on first sight, and able to use it without having to learn any exotic skills. It may or may not need to be obviously special to look at, but it is made of a substance of about half the density of steel, and is significantly tougher. It will therefore be substantially lighter than any common weapon, and more readily balanced. I assume that, with respect to weight and balance, this sword is already optimized.

When connected to an appropriate power source, however, the edge becomes as sharp as the plot requires. No, it's not Infinitely Sharp, and will not plunge unstoppably into the core of the earth. But it will defeat any kind of commonly available armour, and shear through normal weapons and most barriers with ease.

My question relates to the shape and size of this kind of blade. Since penetrating power is no longer a requirement, what will guide the shape and size of this weapon?. Is there a shape or size this sword could be to take advantage of its cutting properties? Conversely, is there some shape or shapes that this sword cannot be because of those same properties?

Answer 1

I kind of disagree with some of the other answers and comments. The form of your sword is not primarily determined by fighting style or purpose. It's dictated by armor and enemy weapons.

The curved form of sabers was introduced because it would maximize cutting power against largely unarmored or cloth-armored infantry, and to thrust around shields. (edit: also so the mounted warriors wouldn't get their blade stuck while riding by....)

The Zweihander and Claymore swords were introduced to scare off enemies and to break enemy close formations.

The cutlass was the primary weapon aboard ships because the enemy was largely unarmored, it was cheap to manufacture, and there wasn't enough space on a ship to swing wildly with your Zweihänder.

The whip sword was only effective in areas where armor was basically unknown.

And finally, even though i know i am entering thin ice here, the katana proved successful, because the Japanese didn't have metal armor, and a fast, sharp, cutting weapon proved most effective against most common opponents.

The combat "styles" developed together with or after a weapon was introduced. People would invent a weapon, test in in training fights, find a good way to fight with it, test it out on the battlefield, and then the weapon would start spreading if it was considered supreme.

Now, a sword that can cut "anything" means your opponents armor doesn't matter. Your opponents weapons don't matter. Your opponents shield doesn't matter. Basically, it's all about what shape gives the user most control over his blade. That is to improve the speed of his moves (because he can literally cut anything, he also doesn't need much FORCE in his attacks, so he can focus on speed). And to reduce the risk of self-injury.

Even though i am not a fan of japanese weaponry, being a HEMA fighter myself, I think the katana proves to be perfect for this scenario. you do not need a guard, because the enemy sword will cut through it. You don't need force, so go for a light blade. And it's 1,5 handed, allowing for maximum control and flexibility.

Also, there already IS a historical and pretty well-developed fighting style, saving a lot of work developing a new one.

Answer 2

I think you will see the same variety of blade shapes as you see today: the shape of any blade will be defined by the purpose. If you want a lot of reach, you will have a long blade, like in a Zweihander or Claymore. If you want extreme precision, you will get a scalpel.
The only difference will be that you don't need wave or tooth patterns on the blade's edge anymore.

Answer 3

For something to be able to cut through anything, the only concept that fits is the science fiction concept of a monomolecular filament, typically made of carbon nanotubes. This can be seen in many works of fiction, including the Molly Fyde series by Hugh Howey. In many of these cases, there's a power source connected to something generally dissimilar from what we think of as a sword, but wielded in a similar way.

The sci-fi theory behind such a "blade" is that the single molecule filament is able to cut through any object by means of sliding between and dissociating molecular bonds in solid objects.

Any conventional blade will have restrictions which cannot reasonably be overcome. Even something like a Vorpal blade from Dungeons and Dragons (originating from Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky), which is preternaturally sharp, still cannot cut through absolutely anything, though it has a penchant for decapitation.

Answer 4

We're making a couple of assumptions here, but the main issues with swords have always been reach, cutting power, and weight/balance. Now, reach is obviously a good idea, assuming you have enough space to use it effectively. However, swords with a long reach have traditionally been very heavy and in many cases, badly balanced. (The pommel in the hilt of a sword is there for this very reason.) The extra weight has been to some extent offset by the increased kinetic energy the weight provides, but fatigue remains an issue. The exceptions to this rule are katanas and their larger cousins, the nodachis, which are, in the context of swords, quite thin and use an entirely different fighting style, thus further mitigating the balance issue.

Cutting power can be safely ignored, since your technological device handles that.

The weight issue is partly negated by the lighter materials, but the balance issue remains. Either you will need to employ counterweights in the style of medieval swords, use a shorter blade or something with a very thin blade, such as a katana. The issue with thin blades is that they are more prone to breaking if handled wrong, and they must be constructed partially of a fairly flexible material (in the context of metals), since harder materials tend to be brittle and prone to breaking. Katanas are often constructed of three different types of steel with varying hardness, achieved by controlling the ratio of carbon to iron in the steel. This is something that should be taken into account as a katana made out of only hard metal would most likely break quite easily due to it being fairly brittle.

The last issue is reach. Unless you plan for the weapon to be used mostly indoors or other very cramped environments, I would recommend first and foremost a katana-style weapon, since they tend to work well even without a counterweight, thus making for a lighter, more balanced weapon. If you want a more sci-fi looking sword, a bastard sword -style weapon might be a suitable compromise, although in terms of performance it will most likely remain inferior to katanas.

Answer 5

Honestly this shape would be determined on how your society is shaped, what would their armor look like? Religion? Social status? as well as what does your opponent's armor look like? what are its weaknesses? Assuming there is a protection against this technology what is the best way to counteract it? Without this information I can't answer the question to the extent I could if I had it. The best way to utilize this technology in my opinion its to be able to cut and stab your opponents from a distance, so I would suggest spears, or maybe crossbow bolts with this tech inside it if that would be possible. The spear should be able to slice as well so I would stay away from European styled spears and go closer to Asian styled slicing, and stabbing spears.

for example

Answer 6

You DO want a Curved Blade

I originally wrote a long answer predicated on the idea that you want to eliminate curved designs to shift the point of control back towards the handle, but as I reached the end I discovered I was wrong.

Curved blades were design to increase the momentum of the tip of the sword, allowing deeper cuts. You don't need any help to make deeper cuts, but that momentum is going to allow you to continue your slices more fluidly. If we shifted momentum back down the blade with a straight design, the effort involved with going from Person A to Person B increases somewhat - but a weightier (curved) edge would give you faster and more fluid motions.

As others have noted, you should also make do without a guard because it's simply not needed for hand-to-hand combat when your sword will cut through your opponents. Unless supersword vs. supersword means that you WILL parry as per usual, in which case bring it back.

Blade and handle length is relevant only to the characters in your story. If the blade is long they would probably appreciate a two-handed handle design though, just to improve stability and control. With that said, don't forget that your blade is quite light, so you can probably have a longer 1-handed sword than what you traditionally see here on earth.

.

But don't forget the Rule of Cool

Sometimes the best literary weapons are those that see the coolest, even if they aren't the objectively best weapons. I would personally submit a very modern sword for such a bill, staying very flat all the way along. It's not perfect, but it's very easy to explain or assume that the technology that produces the supercut field operates symmetrically and so curved weapons are out.

Answer 7

If it's light enough, a weapon similar in shape to a sweeping brush with a long handle would probably be good. The edge of the blade would point away from the wielder.

The weapon needs only a light force to cut, so you don't need the fast slashing movement of a sword - so why let your enemy get within sword-range of you?

A phalanx of T-spear armed units could (ahem) sweep your enemies away, and you would probably need only a single rank (apart from reserves). OK it's a bit less maneuverable, but unless your enemy can fly to get around you, that would seem to matter little...

Your cavalry could mow down the enemies with really wide versions as soon as your enemy learns their lesson and decides never to engage in hand to hand combat.

Answer 8

I'm guessing a monofilament of superconductive material about 8 light minutes long, attached to two spaceships one on each side capable of near-lightspeed acceleration. The superconductivity will be critical for cutting through stars, with sufficient length to bleed off heat even when cutting a red super giant star. It probably can't cut a black hole but I think it handles everything else.

You did say anything.

Answer 9

I would say it is like a string but not wool or anything, superthin iron in form of a straight string.

With a blade there is a problem. For example you would cut wood with a saw, it can cut wood but sometimes it get stuck.

So if you have a new iron or something like that which would never bent even it is so thin like a string, then i could imagine it can cut trow anything. Also it have to be super sharp.

Also imagine two swords collide in a fight with a blade i just can imagine the other sword to break because first the sharp front of the blade would make a cut into the other sword but the remaining part of the blade is not sharp so it would just break throw depending how hard you hit. But with a super sharp string i can imagine cut through the sword.

Answer 10

The ability to cut is determined by the angle of the wedge that makes the edge and it's smallest point, the materials the blade is made out of, and the force applied to the blade.

Hypothetically a flat chunk of jello can cut anything if you apply enough force to it. The reason it doesn't work is the forces acting on the material make it break up before it can do it. The Smallest point is the biggest point that has to get between the points on the other object, and the wedge is just how smooth and thus how much force is needed to push more of the material between the other material.

So there is no "ultimate design shape". If you could you'd want to just make Free Quark edged sword with an infinite gradient bevel to human sizes made out of the densest material in the universe equipped with an anti-gravity field to counteract the weight.

But you want shape... so, basically you want a straight blade always, because curves weaken the blade and as such make it easier break and lower it's overall threshold for actual cutting ability. Curvature of the blade is for depth of cut, not cutting ability. The more curved (to a point) a blade is the longer the cut is, because more of the blade is in contact with and passing through the area as it is going through the same motion for the wielder.

a slightly curved blade, like the Katana, maybe helpful in drawing the blade and inductive to certain styles of fighting, but it's overall a weaker blade in many respects due to that slight curve and the disadvantages outweigh whatever slight advantage that curve brings.

The more curved the blade is the more unwieldy it is to sheath and use in various other respects than just straight cutting so even though a greater curve causes a longer cut, I'd consider it a worse overall sword in general because it loses all those other things and is harder to sheath than a normal sword.

So again, best cutting sword possible, probably a backsword (single edged generally straight blade). Katanas, Falchions, and "backswords" fall into this category of sword. I've taken to calling them all backswords, now, because it makes the most sense.

As far as length of the weapon, that depends on the wielder. It's not a "standard" thing. For example, I like the feel of a Wakazashi vs the feel of a Katana simply based on length, because the swords otherwise are the same so for me I'd use say the "ideal" is a short backsword. Others however might prefer a long backsword like the katana or the standard backsword. Still others might prefer a dagger or a much longer sword.

Also after re-reading what you said, if the source of the cutting isn't the sword shape then I'd actually go for a thrusting or chopping based weapon design since the it's already got cutting maxed out. Such as the Rapier or a double edge long sword. I'd go thrust because they look better imo, and they are considered more noble and gallant, but choppers are more menacing. A brute of a villain might use a chopper style.

Answer 11

If it can cut through anything without resistance, the shape would be irrelevant for that. A straight shape would then be the simplest shape. The length is constrained mostly by the user's ability to swing it quickly and most importantly, not hurt himself or his allies.

If the user expects to face similarly equipped opponents, he will opt for a longer sword, as there is very little defense against such a weapon, so hitting the enemy before he can hit you is good.

On the other hand, fighting against opponents wielding normal melee weapons, reach is less important as it becomes effective to chop off their weapons with a quick stroke, neutralizing their advantage. Then speed is king, so a shorter blade.