Not good. The perceived quality of Japanese steel is tied to its actual value at the time. Iron ore was rare. Making steel in japan was difficult. They melt

Not good. The perceived quality of Japanese steel is tied to its actual value at the time. Iron ore was rare. Making steel in japan was difficult. They melted it down from river sand. So finished swords were valuable enough not to be buried with people. Compare Viking swords, which were equally as intricate and probably better overall, but were easy enough to make that they could be buried with their owners. The mythology of Japanese swords also increased as polished steel was rare enough that simply seeing it would a bit of a shock. If you live in a brown village where the only metal is black iron, someone pulling out a shiny katana is akin to someone today pulling out a light saber.