Obscure Psionics Pathfinder Question

[JanusThePaladin]

There is a Blade Skill for the soul knife class in psionics that reads:

Emulate Melee Weapon: The soulknife can form her mind blade to replicate any single melee weapon, chosen at the time she takes this blade skill. The soulknife is proficient with her mind blade in this form and it functions in all ways as the chosen weapon. This blade skill may be taken multiple times; each time, it allows the soulknife to form her mind blade to replicate a different melee weapon. This blade skill may not be used with the mind bolt.

My question is this: If i were to make my soul knife a whip would this skill effect the damage my soul knife does (as a one handed melee weapon it should do 1d8, but a whip only does 1d3 and does not do lethal damage) and would this allow me to take skills based around having a proficiency with the whip as I am "proficient with my soul knife in this form", which is a reduntant statement as I'm automatically proficient with the soul knife.

thoughts?

[Alienist]

"it functions in all ways as the chosen weapon"

Seems fairly clear cut and unambiguous. Yes, 'all ways' would cover damage dice and kind of damage (bludgeon/pierce/slashing as well as lethal/non-lethal).

Treat it as though you had picked up an actual whip. That is why the proficiency clause exists. You're right that it is redundant, but only partially so. It never hurts to spell these things out in detail and with redundancy. (See also the various discussions on whether Monks have proficiency with their unarmed attacks, and whether they need it or not, or whether such a thing even exists ... and then be grateful that they added a small bit of redundancy)

[JanusThePaladin]

So are you agreeing that it would give me "proficiency" with the whip for the purposes of whip mastery?

[Psyren]

If you already have Whip Mastery, it will work with a Whip-blade. If you don't have Whip Mastery, the Weapon Focus you get with your Mind Blade isn't enough to qualify - you will have to take Weapon Focus (whip) first, which would likely mean getting Whip Proficiency some other way.