User blog comment:Blackendedsoul/Buggy's Shock!/@comment-4754162-20120313025930/@comment-3425840-20120314024652

@OPN: You mean to say that you don't need force to slash and cut a person in two pieces? If you slash from top to bottom then you have some advantage due to the gravity but other than that you do need force to slash, in cases even more so than stabs because in case of stabbing area involved is generally smaller and thus one can exert more pressure with less force (pressure=force/area).

As for your statement "slashes sting more, while stabs stain more" - it depend on the weapon. A rapier stabs way better than a katana but is a dud in case of slashing. A katana can be used to make excellent slashes but is not that effective for stabbing (it can be used to stab but that is not what it is famous for). A sabre is a balance of both stabbing and slashing but thus it is not the best in individual cases.

Since the fighting method with different weapons varies you can not just say one is more effective than others. Stab wounds are hard to stitch up and more fatal in vital spots, how ever in random parts of the body they cause only minor damage. Slashes covers a bigger range and if performed with enough dexterity and force can cat apart entire limbs (of course it is possible only with a good slashing blade) so they can be more lethal than stabs at some point. Another huge factor is what kind of protection the opponent is using. For instance, against Samurai armor normal slashes are ineffective but normal stabs work fine but a against Chain mail only heavy slashes works not stabbing.