I posted this on another forum but thought it would be very appropriate here as well since many of you are familiar with the book. In the Tower of London publication "Knives and Scabbards" at least one of the knives showed bainite as it's predominate structure in it's metallography. It never would have occured to me that smiths may have been actively making bainite blades (intentionally or by accident?) before modern times but it shouldn't surprise me, the technology isn't difficult and I'm sure smiths then were a curious lot (in more ways than one!) even as we are now. Anyway my friend Jesse Frank pointed this out to me and I'm still quite surprised by it.