"Even in a middle of hatred and killings there are things worth living for. A wonderful meeting, or a beautiful thing can exist" (Hayao Miyzaki)
"One day, being with several Yakunin, I felt the wish to compare the penetration power of their sabers, handled by them, with that of a saber manufactured according to the pattern designed by general Marey Monge, having had the chance to verify its great usefulness for myself. My proposal having been agreed to, I had a pine board, about 3 centimeters thick, brought. It was placed upright and a Yakunin, who had been chosen by his colleagues, having twirled his two-handed saber in the air, struck a blow with all his strength. The blade penetrated to a depth of 3 centimeters. I then took the general's saber and struck a blow one-handed. The cut was 5 centimeters deep, and the blade was so deeply lodged that I had to be cautious not to bend it when pulling it out of the wood.
The Yakonin seemed very surprised and all drew forth to examine this blade which, being much lighter and wielded one-handed, had penetrated much deeper. The experiment was carried out again, and the result was always the same. A Yakunin asked me if my saber could cut straw or other light matter as well as his own. I answered to him that French sabers are made to kill men, not to cut straw [Du Pin bringing the bantz -Juga]. I must admit that this answer was not without some Gascon boastfulness. The Yakunin, refusing to admit defeat, had a Japanese umbrella brought, which he placed on a piece of wood. He struck it with his weapon, and the umbrella was almost entirely cut through; nevertheless, two pieces were not separated. My saber was not sharpened, whereas my opponent's was perfectly so. I felt that I owed him a rematch, so I struck my best, and the umbrella was so perfectly split in two that my saber cut a deep notch into the wood that acted as the base. This time, the question was settled.
The reason for these results is the following: the saber designed by general Marey Monge has a cutting edge that is far less obtuse than that of the Japanese saber, and the weight of the weapon is spread more suitably so as to obtain useful effects."
The Yakonin seemed very surprised and all drew forth to examine this blade which, being much lighter and wielded one-handed, had penetrated much deeper. The experiment was carried out again, and the result was always the same. A Yakunin asked me if my saber could cut straw or other light matter as well as his own. I answered to him that French sabers are made to kill men, not to cut straw [Du Pin bringing the bantz -Juga]. I must admit that this answer was not without some Gascon boastfulness. The Yakunin, refusing to admit defeat, had a Japanese umbrella brought, which he placed on a piece of wood. He struck it with his weapon, and the umbrella was almost entirely cut through; nevertheless, two pieces were not separated. My saber was not sharpened, whereas my opponent's was perfectly so. I felt that I owed him a rematch, so I struck my best, and the umbrella was so perfectly split in two that my saber cut a deep notch into the wood that acted as the base. This time, the question was settled.
The reason for these results is the following: the saber designed by general Marey Monge has a cutting edge that is far less obtuse than that of the Japanese saber, and the weight of the weapon is spread more suitably so as to obtain useful effects."