A sharp blade cuts through flesh using surprisingly little force
Forensic investigators look for a temporary cavity in the tissue, a five-centimeter wide gap created when the body's natural elasticity snaps back after a strike.
While a bullet relies on a high-velocity shockwave to destroy tissue, a blade functions through pure mechanical efficiency. A typical thrust requires only about 50 to 100 Newtons of force—roughly the same effort it takes to push a doorbell or depress a heavy-duty stapler. This modest pressure allows a standard twelve-centimeter blade to glide through skin and muscle, reaching vital organs like the lungs in one out of every four torso strikes. Because human flesh has a density nearly identical to water, the resistance is surprisingly low once the initial surface of the skin is breached.