Reading Comprehension

Historians have long recognized the Japanese sword as one of the finest cutting weapons ever created. But to consider the sword that is synonymous with the samurai as merely a weapon is to ignore what makes it so special. The Japanese sword has always been considered a splendid weapon and even a spiritual entity. The traditional Japanese saying "The sword is the soul of the samurai" not only reflects the sword's importance to its wielder but also is indicative of its importance to its creator, the master smith.

Master smiths may not have been considered artists in the classical sense, but every one of them took great care in how he created a sword, and no sword was created in exactly the same way. The forging process of the blade itself took hundreds of hours as two types of steel were heated, hammered and folded together many times. This created a blade consisting of thousands of very thin layers that had an extremely sharp and durable cutting edge; at the same time, the blade was flexible and therefore less likely to break. It was common, though optional, for a master smith to place a physical Signature on a blade; in addition, every master smith had a "structural signature" due to his own secret forging process. Each master smith brought a high level of devotion, skill, and attention to detail to the sword-making process, and the sword itself was a reflection of his personal honor and ability. This effort made each blade as unique as the samurai who wielded it; today the Japanese sword is recognized as much for its artistic merit as for its historical significance.

The author is most likely to agree with which of the following observations?

(A) The Japanese sword is the most important handheld weapon in history.
(B) The skill of the samurai is what made the Japanese sword so special.
(C) If a sword had a physical signature, other swords could be attributed to that sword's creator.
(D) Master smiths were more concerned about the artistic merit of their blades than about the blades' practical qualities.
(E) The Japanese sword has more historical importance than artistic importance.

Pls explain your pick - [spoiler]are physical and structural signature different?[/spoiler]

MGMAT

IMO "C" is right answer :
reason : statement from psg:
It was common, though optional, for a master smith to place a physical Signature on a blade; in addition, every master smith had a "structural signature" due to his own secret forging process

This is a tough one, I'm not positive on my answer - look forward to hearing other opinions.

(A) The Japanese sword is the most important handheld weapon in history. - This is too broad, we are only talking about the Japanese sword here.

(B) The skill of the samurai is what made the Japanese sword so special. - The point of this passage is more directed toward the art of the sword rather than the skill of the samurai.

(C) If a sword had a physical signature, other swords could be attributed to that sword's creator. - This makes sense- while the structual signature would be there, a physical signature would allow other swords to be attributed to the sword's creator.

(D) Master smiths were more concerned about the artistic merit of their blades than about the blades' practical qualities. - Judging from the passage, I don't believe that the author would agree with this as he seems to highlight all of the work that goes into each blade.

(E) The Japanese sword has more historical importance than artistic importance. - I don't think that he'd agree with this either, especially the last sentence in the second paragraph which makes it appear that the author believes the sword to be of equal important both artistic and historically.

Though I'm not entirely certain, I'd go with C. I don't love choice C, but I don't like any of the other choices more.

IMO E. read first para and you will get it.

IMO B: The whole passage outline the importance of Smith' skills in creating a sword.
What is the original answer??

+1 for (C)

What's the OA ?