Quick side note. I was told by Adam DesRosiers that one of the reasons Japanese sword smiths would fold and forge over and over and over is that if there are any air pockets in the steel, they would either be compressed out or stretched the full length of the sword, rendering them tiny, even and inconsequential. You think there is a real advantage to doing this over the way that Rand Jr does it?
BTW tell Jr not to rush it! I know how tasks like this can be. Gets old after a while, you start to go cross eyed.