# Bullet vs Sword Edge = 3 Bullet Bits **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2017, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullet-vs-sword-edge-3-bullet-bits/778548 "2017-01-30T00:05:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullet-vs-sword-edge-3-bullet-bits/778548/1 "2017-01-30T00:05:18Z")
I’ve seen a bunch of videos of bullets shot at sword edges. Invariably the result is the bullet is split into three bits. Why is it so consistently three and not two? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullet-vs-sword-edge-3-bullet-bits/778548/2 "2017-01-30T00:57:16Z")
Got a link to any of these videos? Are they real, or fictional? ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullet-vs-sword-edge-3-bullet-bits/778548/3 "2017-01-30T00:59:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Got a link to any of these videos? Are they real, or fictional? Just saw it tonight on “Forged in Fire”. Here’s one from Season 1 of “Forged in Fire”. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6Hasi-giZck/hqdefault.jpg "Forged in Fire: Splitting Bullets (S1, E1) | History") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hasi-giZck) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullet-vs-sword-edge-3-bullet-bits/778548/4 "2017-01-30T01:13:07Z")
My first guess is that it has something to do with the spin of the bullet. But honestly, I don’t know. A close-up version of the slo-mo shot might help. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullet-vs-sword-edge-3-bullet-bits/778548/5 "2017-01-30T01:20:12Z")
There’s this one. It makes a lot of pieces but in the sheet behind the knife there appears to be three holes. I’m not sure if this shatters more because the knife isn’t very sharp. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1Qy-Be2cDGQ/hqdefault.jpg "Can a Butter-knife Split A Bullet in half ?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qy-Be2cDGQ) ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullet-vs-sword-edge-3-bullet-bits/778548/6 "2017-01-30T01:23:00Z")
You can tell that the shards are different colors and sizes, so most likely the shot hits at a slight angle and the blade cuts off a piece of the jacket and part of the lead slug. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullet-vs-sword-edge-3-bullet-bits/778548/7 "2017-01-30T01:25:40Z")
I see what you’re saying now that you point it out and I go frame by frame. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullet-vs-sword-edge-3-bullet-bits/778548/8 "2017-01-30T04:23:38Z")
The lead core will easily separate from the brass jacket when bullets hit, I have recovered lots of them. In the videos it looks like the lead splits in two and the jacket holds together as a third piece. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![newme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e0b2c6/32.png) [@newme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newme)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullet-vs-sword-edge-3-bullet-bits/778548/9 "2017-01-30T04:55:31Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > Just saw it tonight on “Forged in Fire”. > > Here’s one from Season 1 of “Forged in Fire”. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hasi-giZck](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hasi-giZck) Watch it in slo-mo and pay attention to the color of the fragments. In both shots, the fragment on the far right is lead with attached jacket, while the first fragment to hit paper on the left has lost its jacket. The loose piece of jacket is the last to hit the paper in both instances.