Last evening I caught a show profiling the art of making the highest quality samurai sword in Japan. It starts with a special carbon steel which is provided to a handfull of sword making experts. Characteristics of the sword sought include sharpness and strength. What really caught my interest was when a US metal worker and a sword maker from Iowa were recruited to duplicate this ancient process. At the end of the show they put both swords to a series of tests to compare the quality. They even showed both swords splitting a bullet using a high speed camera. Just an excellant find ... check your guide as I forget the channel.