Hematite

[The Industriallist]

It just seems better for the steel to be useable for other purposes, unless that is impossible in the real world. Otherwise, this only could benefit militaries. And of course those nut-jobs who make their own steel weapons.

Any master swordsmiths or metalurgists here to comment on the possibility of using forged steel in machinery?

[David]

There is still an outcast class in Japan to this day... still discriminated against... the burakumin. Of course I don't think the Burakumin made swords... they were relegated to tasks deemed more "dirty" I believe. which I am sure you are aware of... and there isn't a huge difference between being a feudal serf and being a slave... especially in what was then the very very essentially caste system of Japan. some regions of the world where someone was even designated as a slave was better than being a feudal serf... in terms of freedom and economic opportunity. (namely Byzantium/Persia/Near East Regions) One generation you could be a slave, the next a monarch... and many times monarchs valued some of their most trusted slaves above their own sons and put them in positions of great power... then again there were the peasants there of course... but a Greek slave captured in war for instance could rise to a position of great power... namely because of the spread of hellenism throughout the middle east from Alexander and his predessecors... The Greeks ran the Middle East much like the British ran India... until they were toppled.

One could argue even in recent History what happened to the Philipinos and Chinese at the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army was far worse than slavery... but that is another matter altogether... and the way the Japanese were treated here in America during WWII wasn't very nice either.... But I would say being a fuedal serf in midieval Japan wasn't much different than being a slave in other regions...

[Spectrus_Wolfus]

you ever read about what the japanese did to australian and english POW's in WW2 most slaves even in the early history of the US lived better then they did

[rklenseth]

Moved to Implemented forum.