A really good sword
 

According to Anglo-Saxon myth, the way you tested if a sword was sharp was by placing it in a river and see if it could cut through a strand of wool carried by the current.

What kind of quality is this? It seems way way beyond anything realistic. Extra damage? Armor divisor? Something else?

Re: A really good sword
 

Very fine would have that level of sharpness. If we assume a strong current is ST 10, the blade would deal 1d+2 cutting damage to anything pressed against it.

Re: A really good sword
 

I think I remember a similar test in Japanese history/mythology, cutting a leaf floating in the river (though that may have been about the works of specific swordsmiths, like Masamune and Muramasa).

Re: A really good sword
 

I think that's taking the damage system too literally.

Re: A really good sword
 

See Azalum, from Fantasy Tech 1. I say that because I believe it's meant to more-or-less be the mythological version of Damascus Steel, which was said to be capable of similar feats (there's a story of someone dropping a silk handkerchief onto such and it being cut in half).

IIRC, the story was that the leaves would slide past a Masamune sword unharmed, while a Muramasa sword was so bloodthirsty it would cut every leaf in half. I've also read a variant in which the water would turn red downstream of the Muramasa, due to all the fish also being cleanly cut in half.

Re: A really good sword
 

I remember the test being that when I leaf makes it to the blades edge 1 of 3 things happen:

1 - it bounces off the edge, meaning the blade is not sharp enough. This is similar to taking the edge of a knife and lightly passing it over your arms hair and not cutting the hair.

2 - it gets cut in half and floats away in two. This means it is sharp. Using the above it means the edge of the knife can cut your hair.

3 - it gets cut in half and both pieces actually float back together as one. The edge is so sharp that it everything flows around it rather than being split by it. This is like taking a piece of hair and dropping it on the edge and the hair getting cut. I have seen that happen. Scary sharp!


Now, back to OP question, a sword passing that test (cutting a floating leaf/wool strand) would be just normal quality. And sword/blade that can't do that would have troubles cutting through stuff. I have seen this happen during one of my cutting practices. One of the other students were using a new sword they got that was only factory sharp and they were failing to cut through the tatami mats properly, you had to use a lot of extra force to do it and the mat pieces would go flying. Our teacher at the time took the sword and tried cutting with it too just to make sure it was the blade and not her technique and quickly concluded it was the blade not being sharp. I have seen other friends of mine cut with their blades that were razor sharp and the mat still staying in place, as in the cut part still sitting on top (This is not only because the blade was sharp but because the angle of their swing and alignment was perfect and did not waiver during their swing).

Re: A really good sword
 

Though of limited actual use, I'd say the strand of wool is effectively making a slam attack against the edge of the blade using its infinitesimal mass and the speed of the current. Calculate the force of the "impact," multiply the force by ~1.57 (1d+2 divided by 1d) for Very Fine and compare to the sheer strength of a strand of wool.

Note: I am not a mathematician nor an engineer, and am mostly talking out my behind right now. This is just what occurred to me spur-of-the-moment.

Jinumon

Re: A really good sword
 

a leaf don't have enough mass to make "slam" attack that do even 1d6-5, not at "flowing in the river" speed.

Re: A really good sword
 

There is an apocryphal story of Richard the Lionheart meeting Saladin, and the latter demonstrating the sharpness of his sword by shredding a silk handkerchief tossed in the air.

Re: A really good sword
 

That's the one I was thinking of when I suggested Azalum, yes. The version I heard had him dropping the handkerchief on the blade, and it neatly splitting.