Mechanics explained[]
Bleeding Wounds:
Each stack of Bleeding Wounds does 1 damage per second, ignoring armor.
Stacks do not have seperate timers, all stacks will expire 20 seconds after your last hit.
Glancing blows:
A glancing blow is when your swing hits an enemy not directly in your crosshair.
Glancing blows only do 10% of normal damage, regardless of weapon.
Knives cannot use this mechanic at all, presumably because the player only stabs with them.
It's possible to "glance" multiple enemies, but the diagonal arc of the machete makes this tricky.
When using a power attack, only a direct hit applies extra bleed stacks.
In summary:
Bladed weapons aren't just for stealth; they're excellent for hit and run tactics, even against groups.
You can slow/bleed multiple enemies in a single hit, and whittle down even the tankiest enemies.
A single power attack can do 100 damage through bleed alone, damage comparable to a sledgehammer.
Anyone with more wiki experience than me, please feel free to add any of this information to the page.