i did this before but i was a noob and didn't do any pictures or anything an it just wasn't a good thread. but its dead now so here is a better version!
so here is what you do. 2 warriors fight in a one on one battle in flat terrain they are both equally skilled and have no armor but they have different weapons you vote on which one would win.
Wood, actually, and most plate armour designs have several points where a blade could be inserted quite easily by a nimble swordsman. I would vote for the katana (it being the only Japanese sword involved, the model name is irrelevant) due to its superior maneuverability.
Against an unarmoured, or lightly armoured foe, a katana is better due to it's lighter weight (only relative to the colossal claymore) and thus faster attack speed. If your foe has actually come prepared for a fight with anything like Medieval plate armour, a weapon with some real momentum and the strength to withstand multiple blows against armour is needed. A claymore would be better in this situation. (However, what is really needed is a BIG AXE.)
In short, my revised opinion is that if the opponent of the Katana user is covered in armour with no obvious gaps, the Katana is useless. If the opponent is unarmoured, I think a katana might just be slightly better.
Ok I'm sorry for being so off subject two problems. When did they put on armor? It was never mentioned, it has nothing to do with the weapons, for that reason the armor is not relevant. There were countless sets of hand made armor in Japan, The Japanese would make their own armor using a variety of wood pieces, along with metal and bone beads. Basicly it prevented minor lacerations. My previos opinion still stands however (armor still not being relevant here) a katana (Fish has a point about the name) has an overruling speed factor. I don't think this is really the greatest matchup.
For the claymore, I thought that you were talking about the land mine. Anyway, I vote for the katana for two reasons. Excluding the cheap copies they make today, katanas are made of high-quality, durable steel. And second, Michonne uses a katana. (Walking Dead reference)
@apldeap123 They are made of durable steel today. In the medieval era, they were made of low quality steel that was very brittle, and easily irreparably broken. A claymore was much stronger, and could be easily fixed as the steel was still mildly flexible.
If it were me wielding the sword, I would choose the katana. If my opponent had a claymore, he would have to be plenty strong to be able to defend himself effectively with that big heavy sword against my fast light sword. I'm assuming that neither of us are armored or have any warrior training.
@gh0sts Also consider that the Katana itself must also be defended against the Claymore, and any other hard things struck at speed, due to it's brittleness.
Raiper Fancier, sharper, and harder. But its not really my type of sword. i dont like fast, thin swords. They weak against pretty much every other weapon there is!