Detroit DIYer cooks up stronger, lighter steel, shames scientists

Re:Detroit DIYer cooks up stronger, lighter steel, shames sc... by Adam503 on Sunday June 12, 2011 @05:53AM (#2646192)

My dad had a PhD in metallurgical engineering from a Big 10 university. I heard more about steel growing up up, than... well. you know. Anyway, I got curious about steel in samurai swords one time, and I asked him about that.

He said there's lots of legends about this material or that could be remade at the research lab my dad worked at that were not feasible to be mass produced. Process too costly, or too toxic, or maybe too dangerous when you have to make several thousand tons of it.

If my Dad had been given two weeks to just go and play at his company's lab, he could have walked out the door with Excalibur.

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Re:Detroit DIYer cooks up stronger, lighter steel, shames sc... by jurjenh on Sunday June 12, 2011 @04:54PM (#2647375)

I would imagine there would be a limited market for this, by necessity it would be a high-end / high-cost / high-value market, much like exclusive furniture for the rather well-off.

Any idea whether there are actual Excalibur smelters around?

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