Despite popular belief, while very sharp, swords aren’t actually all that sharp. You can’t make such a thick blade be razor sharp (coincidentally why the image of a cowboy shaving with a survival knife is also fantasy, you can’t get a knife that sharp). Swords are fairly thick and while the sharpened edge will cut skin easily if slicing or hitting with force, it is not sharp all over the entire length of the blade. It won’t cut your hands if you use a firm grip and hold it correctly. But also, you are in a fight, you are already in a life or death situation, a few cuts on your palm won’t be a deterrent if the alternative is getting murdered by a dude in full suit of armor.
Of course you can get a knife that sharp. You can get anything flat that sharp. But when you make things that sharp they don’t hold an edge for very long, so it’s not a practical angle for a survival or bush knife. General use pocket knives are usually sharpened to an angle of about 24 degrees, and a straight razor is usually around 15 degrees. Since the leading edge is much thinner, it has to be resharpened and honed much more often and is not suitable for cutting hard objects like wood, or in the case of swords, bone.
Despite popular belief, while very sharp, swords aren’t actually all that sharp. You can’t make such a thick blade be razor sharp (coincidentally why the image of a cowboy shaving with a survival knife is also fantasy, you can’t get a knife that sharp). Swords are fairly thick and while the sharpened edge will cut skin easily if slicing or hitting with force, it is not sharp all over the entire length of the blade. It won’t cut your hands if you use a firm grip and hold it correctly. But also, you are in a fight, you are already in a life or death situation, a few cuts on your palm won’t be a deterrent if the alternative is getting murdered by a dude in full suit of armor.
Of course you can get a knife that sharp. You can get anything flat that sharp. But when you make things that sharp they don’t hold an edge for very long, so it’s not a practical angle for a survival or bush knife. General use pocket knives are usually sharpened to an angle of about 24 degrees, and a straight razor is usually around 15 degrees. Since the leading edge is much thinner, it has to be resharpened and honed much more often and is not suitable for cutting hard objects like wood, or in the case of swords, bone.