We aren't going to come to an agreement on this ...
Probably not, but I am having fun, and I really need the distraction today
At the moment there are only a handful people in the world that can make cuendillar and the process has proven to take a lot of time for all but the very best.
Egwene, Bode, or Lelaine could convert enough iron in under an hour to armor the entire tower guard. You keep discounting how little material is needed to create a set of C armor.
Given that they clearly did not make armor of cuendillar during the War of Power when they had much deeper resources it seems logical that if there was benefit to it they would have done it.
They had forgotten how to wage war during the AoL. Dueling was a cerimonial and archaic pastime, and in a duel you do not wear armor at all. Armoring anything was a foreign concept to the mind of AoL folks.
As for weapons, arrows would be very useful and advanced forging methods for blades already seem to exist in the WOT universe based on the swords we've seen ... which can ensure a cuendillar sword is as sharp as necessary and since it will never lose that edge there is not need to sharpen it again.
A C sword (without an edge that would need computers and lasers to create) is nothing special. Swords need flexibility to absorb the shock of impact. Without that flexibility... Beleive me or go grab a baseball bat and take a full power swing at a tree; you'll see. Even with a micron width edge, a C sword would not be that great. Other weapons and tools yeah, not a sword (or arrows for that matter). I only mentioned arrows because the manufacturing process for them and scales is basically the same.
I still think it's a waste of effort to create any of these things when the nature of the world is already beginning to change and the OP is being used regularly in battle and war machines are becoming common place and the days of the individual swordsman are coming to a close. Long range weapons will only get more sophisticated thanks to Rands universities.
Tell that to US military, who are trying very, very hard to develop a material that is light and rigid enough to use as personal anti-balistic armor ("bullet-proof vest" but don"t let them hear you call it that) for about the last 70 years. Any member of the US military (especially ground-pounders)would go nuts for C to replace teh heavy-ass plates in their combat gear.
Also we have zero indication that cuendillar is lighter than the iron it starts out as so your supposition that the armor would be light weight is not certain by any means.
Actually it is the exact opposite. It is stated in the books that C is heavier than iron. The weight savings comes from using less material, about 4 or 5 times less material, to create the armor. C armor can be as thin as your technology can make it (probably about 1/16th or 1/32nd of an inch for randland) and still be more effective than 1,000 feet of steel. This is the key point that everyone keeps ignoring, you could have a C wall 1 molecule thick and it will stop an 18" battleship projectile from point blank range (properly braced of course).
Functional Cuendillar Armor: Possible or impossible?
10/02/2012 04:45:34 PM
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You posted this exact same question one year ago, with a lot of discussion
10/02/2012 06:29:28 PM
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I suppose I am on a...
10/02/2012 11:00:47 PM
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Re: You posted this exact same question one year ago, with a lot of discussion
10/02/2012 11:04:33 PM
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Re: You posted this exact same question one year ago, with a lot of discussion
11/02/2012 01:37:27 PM
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My thought was always about weapons.
11/02/2012 06:31:45 AM
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Certainly possible, but given the effort most women have to put toward changing even a small item
12/02/2012 05:10:35 AM
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Ummm, Warders...
14/02/2012 01:39:23 PM
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How would Cuendillar armour help against channelers?
14/02/2012 07:58:58 PM
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It can not be directly effected by the OP
14/02/2012 09:08:57 PM
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some simple ideas for defeating warders armoured such.
14/02/2012 09:52:41 PM
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Re: some simple ideas for defeating warders armoured such.
14/02/2012 10:54:26 PM
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which way is it?
15/02/2012 04:14:41 AM
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Actually I'd call the Seanchan tactically inferior to the White Tower in using the power
15/02/2012 01:48:55 PM
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That's really not my point.
15/02/2012 03:21:15 PM
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I never said that they could not be stopped
15/02/2012 01:58:41 PM
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I really think you're over-estimating how difficult it would be.
15/02/2012 03:22:44 PM
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Not nesecarrily
15/02/2012 04:01:45 PM
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You just said that most of their tactics are indirect.
15/02/2012 05:44:22 PM
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..and you are creating new tactics
15/02/2012 06:32:02 PM
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*shrug* I don't see it as some world-shaking action
15/02/2012 08:47:40 PM
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But it is brand new, and if you're digging holes earth-shaking seems discriptive
15/02/2012 09:14:12 PM
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Not accurate
15/02/2012 03:54:00 PM
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You are thinking too far inside the box
15/02/2012 04:23:28 PM
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I disagree
15/02/2012 04:43:33 PM
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If armor is of no benefit...
15/02/2012 06:19:30 PM
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Missing my point ... Cuendillar armor is impractical not useless
15/02/2012 07:00:48 PM
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nope
15/02/2012 07:21:03 PM
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*Shrug*
15/02/2012 08:28:48 PM
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Re: *Shrug*
15/02/2012 09:07:24 PM
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No way they could pull off what you are talking about with current tech
16/02/2012 01:55:19 AM
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Re: No way they could pull off what you are talking about with current tech
16/02/2012 03:23:34 PM
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Re: It can not be directly effected by the OP
15/02/2012 02:37:40 AM
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Maybe, maybe not
15/02/2012 02:12:59 PM
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Re: Maybe, maybe not
15/02/2012 06:11:42 PM
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I'll happily amend my initial statement to "maybe even challeling ones"
15/02/2012 07:03:48 PM
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what a lot of people are forgetting with their suggestions of plate armor...
13/02/2012 02:36:50 PM
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Your understanding of how plate armor functions is in error
14/02/2012 01:45:37 PM
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I believe AND I was hoping you would go into the physics of it :p
14/02/2012 11:01:18 PM
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