Blood continues to flow through them, and they do not rot. Parts of a body that have been damaged by a Shardblade are typically referred to as Blade-dead. Non-living portions of a living thing, such as hair or nails can be cut with a Shardblade before the creature itself is killed. This applies to plants as well it takes two swings of a Shardblade to sever a plant, one to kill the soul and another to cut it. Once a person or other living thing has been killed, its remains can be cut like any other inanimate object. When a person is killed this way by a Shardblade, death is not instantaneous it often takes a few moments for the person to be completely dead. If the Blade strikes the spine or head, the eyes of the person blacken and burn out with a dark smoke rising from them. If an internal organ is pierced by a Shardblade, it may be killed or cease to function. If the Blade cuts the core of a person's limb, the person feels a flash of incredible pain and then the limb turns gray and becomes limp and numb. The wielder of the Blade feels a small tug of resistance as the Blade passes through living material.

It is still possible to Soulcast a person killed by a Shardblade.

However, when swung at a person or other living object, the edge of the Shardblade will fuzz, leaving the physical body unharmed, and cutting the being's soul. When cutting through an object, Shardblades leave behind distinctive perfectly clean cuts. Even though they can cut through nearly any material, there is still a slight bit of resistance even when cutting through inanimate objects. Shardblades can cut through non-living objects, such as wood or stone, as if they are passing through water. Shardblades are said to have a sort of magnetism to them, anyone who sees one is drawn to it. The tensile strength of Shardblades is very high while they can bend a small amount, Shardblades appear to be unbreakable. They are composed of an unknown God Metal, the same type as appears on the keyhole of an Oathgate. When a Blade is dismissed it also vanishes into mist. They can appear inside liquid, shoving it out of the way, but cannot be summoned inside of a solid object. Additionally, water condenses along the length of the Blade when it appears. For example, Mayalaran manifests as small vines before appearing as a Blade. When summoned, they appear in one's hand, coalescing out of mist, with the shape the mist takes depending on the type of spren from which it was formed. All Shardblades that are bound to a specific owner can be summoned and dismissed at will.

All are larger but lighter than any normal sword, often at or approaching six feet in length, while simultaneously extremely light. While there are a few differences between the various types of Shardblades, they all share a few common traits. By Harry Shea-Pelletier Dalinar wielding Oathbringer

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