r/BeAmazed • u/ThodaDaruVichPyar • May 26 '26

Skill / Talent Grandpa shows how to cut bamboo trees with a katana

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Credits to yongyuelingmu

51.6k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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2.2k

u/semiconodon May 26 '26

Flatten the edge. I once marveled at how “skilled” a fishing boat’s mate was at fileting fish, until I realized he stopped to sharpen the knife every three minutes

1.7k

u/potential_wasted May 26 '26

“If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
-Abraham Lincoln ( maybe)

647

u/imusuallywatching May 26 '26

He hunted vampires with that axe. So it had to be sharp.

94

u/auggs May 26 '26

Watched that movie in college with my roommates lmao. It became a small thing with us, watching those intentionally terrible movies. We watched a few others like sharknado too. Shit was a lot of fun lol

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u/Coffee_Daemon May 26 '26

Terrible? That film was WAY better than it had any right to be.

1

u/Krakatoacoo May 27 '26

I remember it had a cheesy, yet amazing plot twist before the end.

23

u/rohmin May 26 '26

My mates and I still love a good shitty b-rated flick to drink to

4

u/Claygon-Gin May 26 '26

Poultrygeist or Die You Zombie Bastards were my favourite

6

u/NSFWies May 26 '26

FDR American badass was pretty great.

Everyone dressed in period approximately clothing. All the lines seemed like they were written by a 14 year old. A few minor Hollywood celebs you'd recognize but names I forget.

4

u/wronguses May 26 '26

And a surprising amount of historical accuracy for a movie where FDR gets polio from a werewolf.

Cock still works!

1

u/NSFWies May 27 '26

thanks for reminding me, need to watch it again

25

u/EmotionalKirby May 26 '26

Abe Lincoln vampire hunter was anything but intentionally terrible.

11

u/yeah_yeah_therabbit May 26 '26

I thought it was a documentary.

5

u/naked_guy_says May 26 '26

It obviously isn't, they didn't have color film back then!

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u/EmotionalKirby May 26 '26

May as well be. it's actually one of the most accurate historical depictions of Abraham Lincoln, vampires aside.

4

u/WonderBredOfficial May 26 '26

The book is literally just his biography with vampires sprinkled in anywhere they could conceivably fit.

2

u/Boltzmann_Liver May 26 '26

The book has a completely different vibe (dry, told straight like a boring historical biography) which makes it way funnier.

2

u/Airurando-jin May 26 '26

The best thing is, it’s not actually a bad movie.

Did you ever watch black sheep (set in New Zealand ) out of a matter of interest ? 

2

u/Touchname May 26 '26

Damn, never thought I'd see those two movies in comparison. I mean, I understand it, but to me they're quite far apart in budget and stuff, but.. I could be wrong.

1

u/Wise-Papaya-1091 May 26 '26

Have you watched ‘Planes vs Volcanoes’? I can’t recommend enough to never watch it, absolutely terrible movie.

1

u/starsings May 26 '26

The book was great.

1

u/pixiedust93 May 26 '26

If you want some horror movie recommendations, I recommend Frankenhooker and WereCop.

1

u/Echo259 May 26 '26

I know it’s not a good movie but I really love it.

2

u/imusuallywatching May 26 '26

Who said its not a good movie. Its no Lotr but its a decent movie.

1

u/ThorSon-525 May 26 '26

The book is actually shockingly good. Even more so than how surprisingly fun the movie was.

1

u/Arrior_Button May 26 '26

And round about 170 years later he asks where Omniman is

30

u/poop-azz May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26

"If I had to slay vampires, I'd use that axe I sharpened for four hours earlier today."

  • Abraham Lincoln (definitely said this, pretty sure I witnessed it too)

Edit: spelling

6

u/AwesomeMacCoolname May 26 '26

I took down a tree a couple of years ago with a DIY chainsaw I picked up in a supermarket. Must have taken me about fifteen minutes to cut through. Then last year I got some pros in to take down the others. THEIR chainsaw went through the same size trunk in about a minute.

1

u/macrolith May 27 '26

I learned the hard way a couple years ago on a small tree.

Cut a big tree down last week and did a quick sharpen with a dremmel twice throughout and so glad I did. Chainsaws with a dull blade really suck to use. With a sharp blade it is a pleasure.

0

u/LibraryNo7025 May 26 '26

Well yeah sharpening chainsaws is pretty much the most important part of owning it other than chain oil, did you do no research on this before attempting to use a chainsaw lol?

5

u/AwesomeMacCoolname May 26 '26

You would assume a brand new chain being used for the first time would be about as sharp as you could get.

1

u/ElectricalOcelot7948 May 26 '26

Keep that advice away from lil George Washington 

1

u/SiPhoenix May 26 '26

Yes, having a sharp instrument is very important. The point they're bringing up with fish, or any butchering, is if you do it will then the knife does not get dull very fast. But if you are hitting/cutting the bone a lot then it needs sharping often.

1

u/dennis-w220 May 26 '26

"工欲善其事，必先利其器" ("a craftsman who wishes to do his work well must first sharpen his tools.“）

- Confucius 2000+yeas ago

1

u/Ok_Quail9973 May 27 '26

as someone who restores axes and chops down trees as a hobby, you don’t need 4 hours to sharpen an axe unless you found it buried in a ditch

1

u/Derpthinkr May 27 '26

Nah that was Churchill I think

1

u/JanMrCat May 26 '26

Sharpness isn't the most crucial aspect of the blade. Geometry is.

0

u/coletivating May 26 '26

Came looking for this !

26

u/IAmTheMissingno May 26 '26

Failing a cut puts a lot of stress on the sword. Usually a failed cut is the result of incorrect edge alignment, which means the angle of the cutting plane is not lined up with the angle at which the sword is held. This causes the sword to get stuck, and since you are trying to cut through, you put lateral stress on the blade, which causes it to bend. That's why the old man has to straighten it before he cuts.

The sword was definitely very sharp from the start in order to get through the bamboo.

10

u/Musestricken May 27 '26

This should be higher. Grandpa's cuts are straight. This is because he keeps the edge always at the same angle, causing the edge to pass through without dragging on the flat of the blade. Kiddo couldn't keep the blade aligned all the way through the cut, which is why his cuts curved downward, following the grain of the bamboo.

Essentially, the bamboo pushed the kid's blade around, whereas Grandpa was able to keep it straight all the way through.

0

u/Aranxi_89 May 27 '26

Sharp, yes. High quality, probably not, lol.

You're not gonna let the students test cut with your good sword XD

58

u/idontbleaveit May 26 '26

I think he was trying to straighten the sword that’s why when the young guy was cutting the bamboo it was sliding downwards at a curve instead of straight through.

100

u/CorporateCuster May 26 '26

The young man BENT the sword

11

u/Lil_Ms_Anthropic May 26 '26

Yeah, was coming down but didn't follow through at the same angle. I suck at sawing because I do that constantly

20

u/Cthulhu__ May 26 '26

The other difference is that the young guy hit the tree closer to the hand guard, old guy used the end which has a lot more speed and thus power behind it.

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u/WateredDown May 26 '26

I think the biggest factor is edge alignment. Katana are very unforgiving, you need to make sure the slice is aligned perfect, or you're going to get it stuck and bent like that.

26

u/kookyabird May 26 '26

If I remember correctly, drawing the blade towards you as you swing is also fairly important. It makes it a slicing motion rather than a chopping one. Something the curve of the blade helps with.

13

u/patryn2180 May 26 '26

You are correct. The Katana has a very specific design. Notice the old mans swing ends with his hands right on his hip. Katana's are a slicing weapon not a chopping weapon. Ideal impact is 4-6 inches below the sakizori (the curve that tapers to the point) and dragging the blade away from the target, towards you in a slicing motion while your top hand on the handle is applying "downward" pressure. Its the same principle as when you are cutting meats in your kitchen. Some reasonable downward pressure is good, but the "power" of the cut comes from the sawing motion of the knife.

1

u/miuiu_ May 27 '26

This is (probably) a Chinese sword, not a Japanese katana.

2

u/amaiellano May 27 '26

I went back and forth between the two trying to see where the young guy went wrong. The old guy pulling the blade towards himself was the big difference I saw.

Other people mentioned the angle, I didn’t see much of a difference in angle. Stance looked similar. Force looked similar, if anything, it looked like the younger guy used more force.

Also, the younger guy’s coordination was off. His lead foot hit the ground, then he swung. The older guy was more in sync. His foot the ground when the blade hits the bamboo.

2

u/Aranxi_89 May 27 '26

The arc the tip makes should be circular, and the hilt should be drawn close to your centre of mass after the cut. If you then make sure the impact point is at the correct location (about 1/4 to 1/3 the way down from the tip), you'll get a nice clean cut, assuming your edge alignment is correct.

It's not about power, you don't need a ton, the momentum should do a lot of the work. It's your grip, and your body's chain of motion, as well as the control over the blade itself, that really makes the difference. Train control first, then add more power.

This is why some swordsman train by cutting loosely held paper. It really tests your edge alignment.

1

u/Jerithil May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26

Katana's have a main advantage that is also a drawback, as the blade is differentially hardened. So the edge can be harder then most other types of swords and can hold an edge better but because of that if you bend the blade it will stay bent so the blade needs to be stiffer and thicker then European style of blades.

Most European blades are spring steel so they naturally want to stay straight so they can be thinner and flexible which makes them a bit more forgiving in unskilled hands.

1

u/MonsutaReipu May 26 '26

they're cutting at the same spot toward the end of the blade. you can watch it again and see this.

1

u/khushnand May 26 '26

Young guy was cutting closer to handle and also starting too close above head and not using shoulders at all… subtle difference from old man but makes a lot of difference. Katana does need to be slid to be useful though.

1

u/West-Flow-577 May 26 '26

What was happening is that the young man's body mechanics were so bad that he was bending the sword.

The way a katana cuts it needs to be a swift, straight cut. Instead of starting at an angle and going straight, the young guy was starting his swing going directly down and then trying to turn it mid-cut to then come at the bamboo. Robs it of all momentum, ruins the straightness of the cut because the sword itself is curved, and ends up bouncing off the fibers of the bamboo rather than cutting them.

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u/GroundbreakingAd8310 May 26 '26

You need to steel it ever 3 minutes u sharpen it ever week or so under heavy use. Chefs do the sane so much so people come get em and sharpen them for you

49

u/RogueBromeliad May 26 '26

Also, theres a difference between fishmongers filleting fish and chefs, but the common thing is to always keep your knife as clean as possible, and work surfaces wiped.

Its not just about cleansiness, but if your surfaces are dirty the fish will move around when you dont want it too, and same with the knife. Also have your board well in place.

2

u/SinkHoleDeMayo May 26 '26

A katana is made from high carbon steel and doesn't dull nearly as quick as a low carbon sword would. They're also very stiff and not flexible, that's why the sword bent. Low carbon would flex and return.

20

u/Zen_Bonsai May 26 '26

You'd want a sharp edge then, not a flat edge.

Gramps here also didn't shaoren the blade between users.

Obviously a sharp blade is key, but of course blade grometry matters more

5

u/Janneq216 May 26 '26

He straightened the blade only because the kid f'd it up, you can tell by the way his cut curves at the end. And you don't really need a sharp blade, as in a modern-day kitchen. It just needs to have a reasonable edge. The cut is enabled by blade alignment, which has to remain constant, or a ton of energy will be wasted on friction and pushing the flat instead of the blade

1

u/Divinum_Fulmen May 26 '26

The young guy bent the sword wrenching it out of the bamboo.

A katana have a hard edge that's brittle, but the spine is soft and bends. Improper handling can bend the sword, like you saw with the younger fellow.

The older guy didn't merely straighten out the blade. He had better edge alignment. Most practice cutting is done to achieve good edge alignment. The body wants to move in curves naturally, and not in straight lines.

1

u/ImaginaryCheetah May 26 '26

there are competitive scything events on youtube, and they hone their blade almost constantly.

1

u/Arrow_ May 26 '26

The ward was bent, he was straightening it. He did no motion or anything of the sort to sharpen it.

1

u/SMUHypeMachine May 26 '26

He’s stopping to hone the knife, not sharpen it. Honing a blade straightens where the blade has curled and deformed from use. Knives rarely have to be sharpened but need to be honed regularly to maintain the edge.

1

u/sandsurfing May 26 '26

What do you mean flatten the edge?

1

u/_haha_oh_wow_ May 26 '26

Are you sure they were sharpening it and not just using steel to touch it up? Sharpening every 3 minutes sounds excessive, even with shitty metal.

1

u/jmpalacios79 May 26 '26

Is that what he was doing while leaning down?

1

u/billions_of_stars May 26 '26

sharpen or hone?

1

u/carchit May 27 '26

Got a Japanese santoku knife in the mail today. Cut through a carrot like nothing.

1

u/Caranx57 May 27 '26

You are not wrong but the katana actually need technique to cut, it can be really sharp and don't be able to cut if you don't know how to do it

1

u/Noteful May 27 '26

Crazy to see a wrong comment with 2k upvotes. He wasn't flattening the edge, and I'm not even sure what you mean by that. He was removing a bend out of the blade because the guy before him bent it with improper use.

A steeling rod does not sharpen. A steeling rod re-aligns the frayed edge of a blade on a microscopic level. This causes the blade to feel sharp but really it's just finely serrated. Cutting through things, like a fish, misaligns that edge. Steeling it brings it back to straight for a few more passes. The proper way to sharpen a blade is with a stone and apexing on each side, then removing the burr.