Quote Originally Posted by Starforge
Just out of curiosity - how much did the consistency of the metalworking vary from province to province (say Iberia to Italy to Anatolia) given a particular time period? Just wondering how much local raw materials and the availability of local craftsmen played with the quality of Roman armor.
Well, I saw a comparisn of Roman swords found in Britain, only one was properly quenched and one (The "Tiberius" Gladius) had had it's edges so ground down that the carbonising on the outside of the blade was completely gone and the smith had worked through to soft iron underneath.

On the other hand Caesar's side-arm in Gaul was probably Iberian Steel.