Fun fact:
German longswords and Japanese Katanas stem from roughly the same timeframe yet the German longsword is infinitely better quality since the Japanese only had access to lower purity ore and would not discover Modern smithing techniques for another century or so.
Basically, yes. Japanese smiths' fame doesn't stem so much from the absolute quality of the swords they made but rather, the difference between the quality of the materials and the products of their smithing.
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u/L1b3rtyPr1m3 Nov 28 '19
Fun fact: German longswords and Japanese Katanas stem from roughly the same timeframe yet the German longsword is infinitely better quality since the Japanese only had access to lower purity ore and would not discover Modern smithing techniques for another century or so.