Katana

"Grabbing a Ninja Sword."

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.[citation needed]

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.
 * It is unknown why the katana appears in places like The Highway, being such an antique weapon, unless a survivor brought the katana with him/her to defend his or herself. This would also serve to explain why the survivor in question was dead.
 * The Katana is a weapon that is one of the strongest to kill Hordes quickly, most likely due to its wide range as all melee weapons (excluding the Chainsaw) only differ by 20 damage.
 * When picking up a katana, Nick and Ellis will occasionally say, "Grabbing a ninja sword." Ninjas actually used a shorter, straight-edged sword known as a ninjato.  Despite what some may say the ninjato was a historically accurate weapon and was not made up by Hollywood.
 * When Ellis finds one during the "Tunnel of Love" section of the The Coaster chapter in Dark Carnival, he occassionally calls it the "Katana of love" instead.