[TML] Personal Armor Noise was Re: Current USAF fleet

[Tom B]

>  And then 5 more centuries of mythology about their characteristics.

Their was mythology about them in their time of origin, so it is
hardly surprising their is further mythology later.

The best among them were pretty amazing (no carving through concrete
pillars though, Duncan MacLeod....). I'm sure far less amazing
examples existed. Yet with the way they were constructed and their
social niche, even the least among them was bound to be manufactured
to a high level of artistry. In a sense, they aren't a proper military
weapon in that they weren't ever mass-produced. They were an elegant
weapon for a warrior caste. There's no reason to suspect they were
magically superior to the best swords produced in Europe (the finest
rapiers, for instance, are quite wonderous constructions as well).

The point wasn't about their awesomeness, but about the social dynamic
involved with them. The social dimension affects who can use which
weapons and that makes it significant in understanding the history of
weapons development. Certainly, they are not vorpal swords...