Katana

"Grabbing a Ninja Sword."

"Man, if I lose my hand, I'm stitchin' this thing to the stump"

- Ellis

The Katana is a new close combat weapon in Left 4 Dead 2. It kills Common Infected in one hit, the same as the other melee weapons. It has a wider range than any other melee weapon.

It can be useful against Special Infected because it is usually a one-hit-kill. However, it requires two slashes to kill a Charger, and four to kill a Witch. Against a Tank, it could be somewhat useful if his back is turned or he is throwing a rock, as melee weapons (excluding the Chainsaw) deal 10% of the Tank's total health. Unlike attacking a Boomer, it is possible to kill a Spitter and move away without adverse effects as it takes a moment for the puddle of acid to start dealing damage.

Trivia

 * The katana was the primary weapon of Japanese soldiers known as Samurai.
 * The katana is a fairly common weapon to find in some campaigns, though this is pretty illogical. However, they are usually found in Dark Carnival and Hard Rain.
 * It is odd that a number of katanas are found throughout the game as these swords are not common in America. It is possible that some of them are well-kept antiques formerly belonging to collectors, battle-ready modern replicas, or even shin gunto from World War II (a not uncommon find at gun shows all over the country).
 * The katana is a weapon that is one of the strongest to kill Hordes quickly, most likely due to its wide range.
 * When picking up a katana, Nick and Ellis will occasionally say, "Grabbing a ninja sword." This is a misnomer, as the katana is more commonly associated with the samurai. However, this fits with their characters, and besides, it's a zombie apocalypse. No one's going to fault them for being inaccurate.