| I am not an expert on the making of blades, but as I understand it is not like stamping out automobile parts. Most parts are compact instead of long and thin. Even frames have crosspieces to give them strength. There was a U.S. company that did make blades using a robotic forge around the late 80's. These were not stamped but the forge and the drawing of the blade was done by robotics. The problem was the old chicken and the egg question. The problem was their blades were acceptable, but not top of the line. They only made Foil, which was the easiest and were going to expand, based on demand and finances. The problem was the market. There was not enough demand to pay back the startup cost. Most of their advertising was word of mouth and a few ads. If the US gets a large Fencers base, we would have more interested in having a forge here. Import cost is not cheap. They could not undersell the competition because of the large startup cost.
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Donald Hollis Clinton, Jr. DHCJr@juno.com
To Teach is to Learn (Japanese Proverb)
Knowing the rule book by heart means nothing, if you don't understand the rules.
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