Katanas· Cut damage

Katana

Best grade: Meitou (made by Cross) — 2.2 cut and 0 blunt, 2 kg, needs 2 strength. The Katana is a katana that deals mostly cut damage.

Good against humans (+10% damage) and landing hits (+4 attack). Weaker at robots (-40% damage), armoured targets (-30% armour penetration) and blocking (-4 defence).

Class: Katanas
Damage type: Cut
Reach: 21
Strength needed: 2 (Rusted Junk) → 2 (Meitou)
Weight: 2 → 2 kg
Value: 1,131 → 62,956 cats
Blueprint: Katanas, level 2, 10,000 cats
Crafted at: Weapon Smith I, Weapon Smith II, Weapon Smith III

Katana stats by grade

Cut and blunt are damage multipliers. Str is the strength the weapon asks for at that grade — below it, attacks and blocks slow down, by up to 47.5% at 20 or more points short (Kenshi Wiki: Strength).

Katana — Manufacturer grades
Grade	Maker	Cut	Str	Weight	Value	Atk / Def
Rusted Junk	Unknown	0.385	2	2 kg	1,131	+3 / -5
Rusting Blade	Unknown	0.47	2	2 kg	1,240	+4 / -4
Mid-Grade Salvage	Ancient	0.499	1.4	1.4 kg	3,729	+4 / -4
Old Refitted Blade	Ancient	0.576	1.4	1.4 kg	4,329	+4 / -4
Refitted Blade	Ancient	0.652	1.4	1.4 kg	5,165	+4 / -4
Catun No.1	Catun Scrapmaster	0.81	2.4	2.4 kg	9,445	+4 / -4
Catun No.2	Catun Scrapmaster	0.895	2.4	2.4 kg	11,655	+4 / -4
Catun No.3	Catun Scrapmaster	0.98	2.4	2.4 kg	14,388	+4 / -4
Mk I	Skeleton Smiths	1.15	2	2 kg	21,000	+4 / -4
Mk II	Skeleton Smiths	1.235	2	2 kg	24,434	+4 / -4
Mk III	Skeleton Smiths	1.32	2	2 kg	27,610	+4 / -4
Edge Type 1	Edgewalkers	1.639	2	2 kg	37,979	+4 / -4
Edge Type 2	Edgewalkers	1.732	2	2 kg	39,960	+4 / -4
Edge Type 3	Edgewalkers	1.826	2	2 kg	41,422	+4 / -4
Meitou	Cross	2.2	2	2 kg	62,956	+4 / -4

Crafted (homemade) Katana: 13 grades

What you can make yourself at a weapon smithing bench — every grade up to Edge Type 2.

Katana — homemade grades
Grade	Cut	Str	Weight	Value	Atk / Def
Rusted Junk	0.385	2	2 kg	3,771	+3 / -5
Rusting Blade	0.47	2	2 kg	4,135	+4 / -4
Mid-Grade Salvage	0.555	2	2 kg	4,662	+4 / -4
Old Refitted Blade	0.64	2	2 kg	5,412	+4 / -4
Refitted Blade	0.725	2	2 kg	6,456	+4 / -4
Catun No.1	0.81	2	2 kg	7,871	+4 / -4
Catun No.2	0.895	2	2 kg	9,712	+4 / -4
Catun No.3	0.98	2	2 kg	11,990	+4 / -4
Mk I	1.15	2	2 kg	17,500	+4 / -4
Mk II	1.235	2	2 kg	20,361	+4 / -4
Mk III	1.32	2	2 kg	23,009	+4 / -4
Edge Type 1	1.49	2	2 kg	27,128	+4 / -4
Edge Type 2	1.575	2	2 kg	28,542	+4 / -4

Katana vs other katanas

Every one of the katanas at Meitou; a weapon that never comes in that grade shows its best one.

Katana vs Guardless Katana: At Meitou, the Katana has needs more strength (2 vs 1).
Katana vs Wakizashi: At Meitou, the Katana has more cut (2.2 vs 1.98), longer reach (21 vs 16), needs more strength (2 vs 1) and a larger indoor penalty (0 vs 4).
Katana vs Topper: At Meitou, the Katana has less cut (2.2 vs 2.42), less blunt (0 vs 0.2), shorter reach (21 vs 25), needs less strength (2 vs 8) and a smaller indoor penalty (0 vs -4).

Weapon	Grade	Cut	Blunt	Reach	Atk / Def	Indoors	Str	Weight
Katana	Meitou	2.2	0	21	+4 / -4	0	2	2
Guardless Katana	Meitou	2.2	0	21	+6 / -6	0	1	1
Ninja Blade	Meitou	1.76	0	21	+2 / -4	0	1	1
Nodachi	Meitou	2.64	0	25	+4 / -4	-4	8	8
Topper	Meitou	2.42	0.2	25	0 / 0	-4	8	8
Wakizashi	Meitou	1.98	0	16	+2 / -2	4	1	1

Where to get the Katana

Shops that stock it

Shop	Stock chance	Found in
Catun Scrapmasters	Common	Catun
Empire Weapon Shop	Common	Heng, Stoat
Flotsam Armory	Common	Flotsam Village
Mongrel Weapon Shop	Common	Mongrel
Ronin Weapon Shop	Common	Fishing Village, World's End
Scraphouse	Common	Black Desert City
Small Empire Weapon Shop	Common	Bark, Brink, Clownsteady, Sho-Battai, Stoat
Thieves Guild	Uncommon	not listed
Black Market Bar	Rare	Rebel Base, The Hub

Blueprint

The Katanas blueprint (level 2, 10,000 cats) unlocks crafting it. Sold at: Bar of Mourn, Black Market Bar, Catun Scrapmasters, Empire Weapon Shop, Mongrel Weapon Shop, Ronin Weapon Shop, The Great Library. Also found at: Bark, Empire Peasants, Cactus Den, Flotsam Armory, Heft, Empire Peasants, Heng, Empire Peasants, Sho-Battai, Empire Peasants, Tower Of Ninjas.

Crafting

Weapon Smith I: 7 × Iron Plates
Weapon Smith II: 7 × Iron Plates + 7 × Fabrics
Weapon Smith III: 7 × Steel Bars + 7 × Fabrics

Which race learns Katanas fastest

The Katanas skill trains at the normal rate for every playable race except P4 Unit (×0.8). Compare every race on the race page.

About the Katana

A standard katana, one of the fastest, lightest weapons around. They rely on skill and dexterity rather than brute strength. Quality is more important than it is with other types of blade, so they tend to be more expensive.In-game description

Katanas lean almost entirely on cutting damage and get a double-strike attack animation; most hit humans harder but do poorly against armour and robots. Source: Kenshi Wiki