Two-Handed Sword

Any sword that is too heavy or too long to require the use of two hands is a two-handed sword. The large two-handed swords were the favorite swords in many parts of Europe. The Swiss were the ones that used it for the longest period of time. They even used it at the end of 15th century. In 1499 it was decided to replace the two handed sword with a shorter sword and a battle axe. In Japan, the Japanese katana also was frequently used with both hands. The largest Japanese two-handed swords were the O'Dachi. In China, two-handed swords were used as well; however, they were used mostly for executions. They also had long swords on shafts with blades that were similar to falchions.