Uh, correction they're lethal. Both.
I mean...A frying pan can also be lethal.
If you mean how do they cut compared to lighsabers, well they're just literally normal swords with a bit of extra.
Jedi Katana is just a metal sword with force imbued into it. Jedaii used it before lightsabers were made. Simplest as I can explain it.Vibroblades were a type of bladed melee weapon that used ultrasonic vibrations to increase cutting effectiveness.
However both would cause a lot more bleeding than lightsabers.
That was another joke mate. But on topic, allowing them to use katanas in the tournament would be a sign of trust in their abilities. If you are sparring with someone you should be able to trust them to not harm you on purpose, so think of this as belief in the padawans' ability to use the katanas without seriously hurting their opponents.
