Longest sword (non-ceremonial)

Extremely large swords have made appearances in the military traditions of several countries, although their actual utility on the battlefield seems to have been fairly limited. The largest examples were likely either the Japanese Ōdachi, Scottish Claymore or German Zweihänder, all of which reportedly reached lengths of more than 2 m (6 ft 6 in) in combat use. Surviving examples with lengths of up to 3.77 m (12 ft 4 in) exist, but these were likely ceremonial or decorative swords which only later became associated with a legendary warrior or historical figure. The difficulty in differentiating these show-pieces from actual weapons means that it is impossible to say which was the largest in practice.

In battle, these long swords (which were more commonly between 1.2 and 1.8 m in length) are thought to have been used in a manner similar to a pole-arm (such as a halberd), requiring a totally different fighting technique to that of a regular-sized sword.