There's a specific grip to use that keeps hands quite safe from the blade, which really only cuts when the blade slides along a surface or already has some speed before impacting a target. If you've ever used a good kitchen knife, the blade cuts much easier if the you slide the knife forward or backward in addition to downward.

Skallagrim has a really good video about what's actually going on with the grip and even uses a real sharpened sword in the demo https://youtu.be/YT_bmO6CnRA?si=zK0_Yz4LagA4Fyi0