My dear dad (linguist, professor, storyteller, poet, writer) used to say, only somewhat tongue in cheek, "Don't worry about the facts, just get the story right!"
People love stories, more than anything, and they buy our knives because there's a story in a handmade knife.
One of the best stories of all time is of Japanese culture. Never mind that most of the techniques they worked out were pretty much making the best of a bad situation- lack of resources, isolation, primitive methods- it's a great story, and what they did with what they had is often pure genius.
People want so bad to believe that the old way is the best way, and to some extent it is.
If a person, bladesmith, fanboy, or customer, chooses to believe that a laminated steel HAS TO be better in every way than a monosteel, there's no point in suggesting that there are many paths to the sea.
I'm like just about everyone else, I absolutely love laminated and mixed steel blades. Unlike a lot of folks, though, it's not an article of faith for me, just an appreciation of what goes into them and how great they look, and the fact that, against all odds, they're often pretty damn great tools.
