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Originally Posted by kronckew
true, if it were not on the history channel, the entertainment leaves a false sense of reality that demeans real historical studies of real historical weapons, their historical construction, use and capabilities.
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I agree, mostly, the show is for entertainment, that's how it gets ratings and pays bills. Nothing wrong with that at all. I wish them the best of luck as I like the show. As to the weapons themselves, I have seen quite a bit of skill. One contestant even did a pattern welded steel on his piece. Most of them are every bit as functional as the their representative antique weapon. The one's that are not, lose. As to the "tests" they are put through, entertaining yes, realistic for the most part, yes. The split the bullet test that I saw was not to see if it could split a bullet (although it made for some great visuals) it was to see if the heat treat was right and the sword could take a concentrated hit without breaking. The ones I saw did, which meant the smith got the heat treat right. The heat treat is everything when it comes to making functional tools. Lousy steel heat treated well will outperform great steel with a lousy heat treat. Ok back to lurking.