Striking with the flat of the blade

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Realistically, striking with the flat of your blade should result in a substantial reduction in damage; swords are not meant to be used that way.

That seems to amount to 1-2 points of damage on a normal sword (the amount that can be attributed to sharpness of a sword as opposed to just its mass×velocity; compare to a stick of a similar mass, with no edge).