Alas, all the stories of katanas cutting through gun barrels come from sources long dead, and no one living seems willing to repeat the experiment with a real national treasure. With respect to khukuri steel, though, I offer the following anecdote from a WWII vet still able to post on his website: "As we made to walk away the kukri wallah approached me and said "You want kukri sahib?" I said "Kukri?" scornfully. He lowered his head, raised his hands and said "No Sahib, pukkha kukri". He then produced exactly what I had been trying to buy. A plain, fully forged, perfectly balanced kukri. I swung it a few times and it felt good so I asked him for the bar. He had been expecting it and produced a mild steel bar just over half an inch square and a foot long with sharp cuts all over it. I swung and brought the blade down on it with all my strength. There was just one more cut and the edge of the blade was unmarked. I had my kukri and it had cost no more than I had been asked for the imitations."