I have a standard katana, nothing too fancy. There are plenty of other swords I've drooled over online, but I figure one is enough for my room. It's just cool to have one. And since I don't own a gun, it would be a useful weapon during a zombie invasion. So, do you own a sword of any kind?

Another katana owner here.  A reproduction of one, anyway:

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp15 … atana1.jpg
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp15 … atana2.jpg

I've also got a genuine pair of manji sai in storage at my parents' place.  I was always a big fan of Raphael and Mileena.

I have a super cool, massive fantasy sword sold with a big poster of a half-nude woman wielding it to slay a Demon Warlock! And I have a blue tanto with dragon carvings and a sharp, but plain katana. Besides, I have a dull halberd and an African Tribal Spear! But they are all stuffed away on the attic of my father's house, as I wouldn't like to have them here in my appartment.

Because; say my friend George comes for a visit, and we kinda get into a fight. Now, if George suddenly decides that he wants to hurt me, he can't just grab a halberd or a sword or a spear off the wall and get on with it - no, he has to find my kitchen kvines and stab me! (Or put  my head into the oven.) Of course, some goes if I was to get a sudden George-killing urge.

I once read in my local newspaper that, a guy owned a katana, and his neighbour had a party, but wasn't letting him in. The sword guy then danged the door bell and, woosh, the other guy had a sword in his head.

That's one of the reasons why I don't have weapons, no matter how sweet they are. They say that it ain't guns that kill - but they sure help us a lot in killing! Same goes with swords, I think, maybe.

I have to question a sword's usefulness. By the time the living dead get close enough for a sword to make contact, you're far too at risk and one tiny mistake even with just one zombie could cost you your life. If you're dealing with multiple undead (which, let's face it, is highly likely), you don't stand a chance.

No, you really need to be looking at mines, grenades and plenty of firepower.

Yeah. And if you absolutely had to have a melee weapon, a good aluminum bat is much better than a sword when it comes to zombies, I would think.

Definitely.

Kudos for the pics!

Nice collection. Hey, an attic is always a good place to store things because it's like a treasure hunt later.

As for the zombie thing, yes, a shotgun or fire-based weapon would be ideal. But a sword isn't much heavier than a bat, plus it has higher attack power. If I'm gonna be swinging something it may as well have a blade. I'll go down in style, baby. But with zero experience I'd probably dispatch one of my own limbs first.
I actually cut a little slash in one of my stereo speakers before when I was "practicing" drawing my blade. After that I stopped playing with it in the house.

...I have three.

1) One's a traditional-styled katana, something I got for only $100; blade's not too sharp, but you can still give yourself some nasty little knicks if you're not careful, and it'll cut small branches and trees in half. I used it for practice, but the cotton cloth-wrapping around the hilt eventually came undone, and the rest of the hilt wanted to fall apart...had to put black masking tape around it like a busted hockey stick, and tried re-wrapping the cloth around the hilt; it's wrapped, but I couldn't do it like it was originally wrapped. The cotton wrapping chafes my hands, so I make sure to practice with gloves.

Apparently, some swords are produced and marketed as consumer products...with fully, legitimately sharpened blades. There're even famous sword makers (Kit-Rae, Paul Chen, etc.) and manufacturers (United Cutlery) who produce this stuff. That's where these other two come in:

2 & 3) "Samurai 3000" Katana & Ninja Sword: These, I bought as a combo. They're designed to have a sci-fi design; the hilt is detailed and textured equivocally like that of a light saber, and the whole swords, both the blade and hilt, are made of steel, which, for me, is ideal for practice. I still wear gloves, but the hilt doesn't chafe my hands as much as a wooden, cotton-wrapped hilt does. The ninja sword is a bit shorter, lighter, and definitely more ideal for a quicker strike; it's also double-bladed - but I'm guessing those features are standard for a ninja sword.

At one point, I suppose I'll end up picking up fencing, or some form of swordsmanship, formally; so far, though, I've only done basic maneuvers, the likes I've seen in anime, movies, and video-games. I know about 5, maybe 6 different strokes.

I make sure to practice at a private spot, out in the woods, or on the beach, where I won't be disturbing anyone; besides, REAL sword masters have always trained out in the wilderness, right?

I'll probably end up picking up some higher quality, more artful pieces if I ever get the cash; got my eyes on a few rapiers, and definitely some better katanas.

Yeah, 'cuz those are legal, and plentiful to civilians...you'd probably have to raid an abandoned military stash for those.

A bat might require successive hits before they go down; chop 'em in half, though, and I think they'll stop functioning.

Honestly though, I do own these for my own peace of mind, but practicing with them is also good meditation and exercise; I pray that I'll never have to use them in all seriousness, though.

You're right, good thinking. The availability of those is going to be an issue. It's going to be nail bombs, pipe bombs and molotovs then until a suitable stash can be located.

So you actually practice moves, that's cool. (Real bushido or self-styled, it's all good.) Maybe one day you will reach the level of awesomeness seen in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04ftEE7O4UY

Jesus Christ Online. O_O

Either that sword's REALLY light, or he's very strong, and very fast...

Even doing it as fast, and as strongly as I can, I'm nowhere near able to do it as fast as that; though, I am a beginner, I still fear I may not be able to reach that potential, either.

Wow. It just really makes me want to pick up some formal training for real.

Those moves in which he completely flipped the sword out of his hands, and into the air...and caught it...blindfolded...I can't tell you how much I am in awe!

I don't own a sword, but I do own a Swordian.

Edit: It talks to me.

Ahh, meant to comment on this earlier.

*Queue Zen music*

Weapons are not in or of themselves good or evil, but it is the one who wields them, and the purpose of the wielder, that is either good or evil. Whether a weapon is used to defend and protect, or used for destruction and oppression, is up to its wielder.

Melchior (Chrono Trigger):

"Do weapons exist because evil exists, or does evil exist because weapons exist?"

Citan (Xenogears)

"Using power, or being used by power, is that not but a problem of the heart?"

This reminds me of the time that I got my LSAT score and wanted to commit seppuku.

Well, sure.  Why do you think I keep the blade so close to the book?