The technique of making it is lost sadly. The weapons made from Damascus Steel were considered very tough and resilient to shattering. The steel was distinguished by a unique pattern, reminiscent of flowing water. It was created using wootz steel originated in India. It's a carbon alloy basically. Here is what Damascus Steel looks like
Most blades that are long enough can cut through pig carcasses too
Like others mentioned earlier, the samurai mainly fought unarmored or lightly armored opponents, which their weapon was perfect for. European knights fought enemies in all kinds of armor (padded, leather, chain, plate) so their weapon had to be able to deal with all of them. The half-sword technique was effective at piercing chainmail and getting in those weak points in a plate harness.
Actually..
Case in point: Damascus Steel, so-named because Christian crusaders first encountered it in the city of Damascus and figured "that must be where they make it all." In reality, it originated from India. And it had properties that would've made Excalibur shit its scabbard in envy. Researchers in Dresden recently discovered that Damascus steel from the 17th century contains the first examples of man-made carbon nano-tubes in human history. Properly sharpened, these nano-structures would have made an impossibly sharp edge of "tiny, saw-like teeth." And Wootz Damascus steel wasn't just centuries more advanced then everything else -- it also looked exactly like a magic sword.
Those are mentioned in this page I think
Thing with katanas is that they hardly bend at all, since they're thin and curved at the same time. They hit really hard because they don't absorb back any of the hitting force, and since they're low weight you can swing them very fast. Middle eastern scimitars are even more efficient.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDkoj932YFo - Japanese katana vs. European longsword (strangely, the longsword seems to have been used more like a blunt weapon and not a slashing one)
Protection from swords, axes, arrows, EVEN DRAGON BREATH. I present to you the most perfect invention in the history of mankind!
Ok, so in real life, shields got busted all the time, and im sure caught on fire.
I do love the bows, especially some of the more exotic ones. Take a look at the penobscot double bow
Anyone ever try making PVC bows by flattening the ends to make a taper? Things work pretty good IRL
I find the Yumi to be my personal favorite ranged weapon. It took two, sometimes three men to string these beasts, and the arrows of the mightiest bushi were sometimes as long as two arms. The Tale of the Heiki has some epic battle scenes where archery is the prominent tactic concerned, as Japanese warriors from around the eleventh to 12th century were known as Men of the Bow.
Alright, finally read through the whole discussion. Mea culpa.
My choice of weapons also involves the falchion. Except that when I say falchion, I don't mean the Thorpe Falchion, which was Ponty's choice:
I rather tend to favour the Conyers falchion type which is the older version of the falchion, and which looks more like a machete.
This type was rather used for slashing and bludgeoning (using TES terms) compared to the more pointy falchion version which was obviously rather used for its thrusting damage, since historically speaking was used for a longer period, during which chainmail and plate was the favoured armor types.
Now, for my second choice, I would go for the falx (even though it's not exactly medieval). I mentioned I am Romanian. Our ancestors are the Dacians. Ever heard of the Dacian Falx? If you played WoW or Diablo, then you did. It has many variants, although essentially it's a sickle type of weapon. The size also varies from a dagger type to a longsword. But it always has an inside curve on the upper part of the blade, hence the usage was meant to grapple and injure shield bearers. Depending on the size, the damage done due with the inside curved blade was greater than with a straight sword, since for the same damage, the inside curved blade required less force/ strength.
The falx was basically like this. The handle was long, for it was essentially a long sickle (sica), which was supposed to be handled by children too. There were two-handed versions of it as well, where the blade was considerably wider (think 10cm+) so having a lighter and longer handle, the ease of use and damage of the weapon were considerable. With similar physics as the machete/ falchion.
Yes, the falx has many things in common with the billhook, because it's basically the same farming tool. Whatever differences between them are probably due to the type of harvesting they were used for. A longer handle versus a shorter handle, a longer blade versus a shorter one, a curvier blade versus a straighter one.
Grappling was a powerful mechanic in combat, so the bill (the polearm) is essentially the same weapon with a longer handle. Just hoping they didn't use the bills for horses' legs too. On the other hand, horses were always considered expensive, so I'm just guessing people using bills would try their best to not injure the horses, which they would rather keep for themselves.
Cheers, Ponty!