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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MerakSpielman" data-source="post: 1120138" data-attributes="member: 7464">Katanas have a reputation, man. Sure, modern metallurgy can produce extraordinary metal, but it doesn't have the same word of mouth.Back in the olden days of yore, nobody could purify metal really well. Places became known for the quality of their weapons, often because of the quality of ore that could be mined there, and sometimes because of "secret" methods that got out as many impurities as possible.Nowadays, we can make metal as pure as we have money to spend, and can analyze what "impurities" actually increase strength, rigidness, flexibility, electrical conductivity, or whatever properties you want your chunk of metal to have. We know how to isolate these substances and add them in measured amounts, and can automate processes that took the smiths of the past months to do by hand.My T'ai Chi teacher is very proud of his swords, purchased in China, and made of genuine Dragon Spring Steel. This is from a place from where could be mined naturally occuring spring steel, which snaps back to form after being bent. Swords made from this metal were considered almost magical when they were first made because nobody understood why the metal there behaved differently then metal elsewhere.I haven't asked my teacher if he realizes that modern, synthetic spring steel is measureably superior. I hope he already knows this, and that his pride in his swords is historical/spiritual/whatever.Of course, an inferior metal in the hands of a superior craftsman can still produce a better sword, but the same craftsman with even BETTER, modern, metal will produce an even better sword. Edit: as for the nimbleness in armor is concerned... Take two identical men, one of whom has no armor, and one who has well-crafted full plate and knows how to wear it. The unarmored man will be faster and able to dodge quicker than the one in armor. You have to remember that most of us would have the equivent of a Dex 8-12 - average for humans. Think about the speed, balance, flexibility and precision of professional martial artists, acrobats and dancers, who probably average a Dex of 14-16. True masters of such things might be creeping into Dex 17-18, and these are the people you see on TV doing things with their body that make your eyes bug out. Now imagine these people trying to do their stuff in full plate armor... You get my point?Sure, you could do a somersault in armor, but how about a triple somersault backwards, bouncing off a wall, twisting in midair, landing, rolling, and jumping agian?  Edit: what the hell is wrong with my sig? It was working correctly a few days ago... Time to descend into META.</blockquote>

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