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"Philosophical questions" often have no black-and-white answers.
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When does a knife become a sword?
- Thread starter not2sharp
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Why is it not a sword? It certainly looks far more like a sword than a machete, and it will certainly not perform the intended purpose of a machete as well as a real one would. Is it completely unsharpened?
Are we really going to get into nit-picky exceptions here? We are discussing a broader philosophical question here and you want to illustrate where white becomes gray?
The blade is built in similar style to patterns used for dense grass and lush vegetation. It is not a wood chopping tool, but it is still equal parts tool and weapon AFTER is primary function as a symbol of status. Here's an example with a heavier patterned blade that would chop wood like a woodchuck (if a woodchuck could chop wood)
Still, it's a badge of office, rank, or status, and was both a tool and a weapon in equal measure.
I would expand that to say that LIFE often has no black-or-white answers. We just like to fool ourselves about it so our lives are more simple and easier to deal with.
No.
If it can kill with the edge or point, it is still a sword. If it can't, then it's either a trophy, a toy, or a club. It's irrelevant whether it's made of carbon steel or peanut butter.
Excellent! My wife won't let me have even a replica sword, but I have a very pointy stick that could kill you with its point (it's very hard wood and a very pointy point). So now I have a sword! Sweet!
The blade is built in similar style to patterns used for dense grass and lush vegetation. It is not a wood chopping tool, but it is still equal parts tool and weapon AFTER is primary function as a symbol of status. Here's an example with a heavier patterned blade that would chop wood like a woodchuck (if a woodchuck could chop wood)
I would probably consider that a sword or possibly a very large knife. It may have other purposes beyond killing people, but it is still designed to kill. It's not ideal for either.
I see it as somewhat akin to Star Wars light sabers. They are clearly intended primarily to lop off heads and extremities, but they are pretty good at burning through blast doors, deflecting blaster bolts, and absorbing force lightning.
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A peanut butter "sword"? Now you have crossed a line! 
Dude. A pointy stick is called a spear.
Nope. This one is too short to be a spear. Too long to be a knife though. But it has a definite point and can kill you. So it must be a sword. In fact, I whittled the point to function as a weapon, so it was even designed to be a sword. And I wrapped one end with paracord. It's about 28" or so long, has a paracord handle, was intended to be a weapon and has a point that can kill you.
Must be a sword.
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I would probably consider that a sword or possibly a very large knife. It may have other purposes beyond killing people, but it is still designed to kill. It's not ideal for either.
I see it as somewhat akin to Star Wars light sabers. They are clearly intended primarily to lop off heads and extremities, but they are pretty good at burning through blast doors, deflecting blaster bolts, and absorbing force lightning.
Or you can just take the most accurately descriptive approach and call it a sword/machete hybrid. And I imagine (based on my fairly extensive experiences handling and/or using machetes and swords) that it would probably feel very similar to a Chinese dao in its handling characteristics. Personally I think it strikes an excellent balance of function.
Got your cognitive dissonance up yet?
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I would love to see a custom whittled peanut butter sword with a hilt fitted in woven bacon.
This thread has occasioned a pleasant memory that poses a similar question. Who remembers The Man from U.N.C.L.E.? Napoleon Solo had a pistol to which could be added a stock and extended barrel. (I had the toy version.)
At what point does a "pistol" become a "rifle"? With the stock and barrel? Stock only? Barrel only? Neither?
With any luck I will have nuked this thread for keeps.
At what point does a "pistol" become a "rifle"? With the stock and barrel? Stock only? Barrel only? Neither?
With any luck I will have nuked this thread for keeps.
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Governmental authority answers such questions with statutes, regulations, and judgments. We have no such authority on this issue - in reality.
Exactly right. Just as the DMV will qualify certain vehicles as "cars" and others as "trucks" -- depending on certain characteristics. It needs to do so for regulatory purposes, none of which apply to the knife v. sword question. Though a similar issue is bound to come up at the state level regarding whether an assisted-open knife is OK or is a banned auto.