Sword Myths & Sword Fiction

• Blood does not make a superior quenchant (an old myth). 
• Neither virgins or slaves have been used to test swords (that is a children's story).
• You cannot chop a machine gun barrel in two with a Japanese sword (modern myth).
• Ancient steels were not superior to modern alloy steels (another modern myth).
• Atlantis was not in the Atlantic. The story of Atlantis was based on rumors of the demise of the Minoan island culture in the Mediterranean by a volcanic eruption. The story was handed down by Egyptians to Plato who turned the little truth into a myth.
• Adamantium is a fictional comic book element without any basis in reality (like Kryptonite). It is just another "Unobtainium".
• Mithirl (J.R.R. Tolkien) another MYTHical metal.
• You cannot cold forge a sword from a leaf spring (modern web myth - parody).

Hype:

The forging scene in Conan the Barbarian is Hollywood fiction, all the methods shown are imaginary and/or do not go together. Steel sword blanks are not cast, that is a Bronze Age method using copper alloys not steel. Nobody forges on an an anvil with a flammable liquid on it (but some blade makers use water). You cannot compare "sunrise red" to a sunrise and snow is not dense enough to be used as a quenchant. It is FICTION. It is great fun but it is NOT real.

Highlander: 
You cannot chop into a concrete column with a sharp sword without seriously damaging it. You cannot chop steel railings or beams in two with a sword (ANY sword). Swords do not make showers of sparks when slid against other items or other swords. 

Titanium: 

Titanium is NOT a blade metal. It is not intrinsically sharp or hard as a recent TV commercial for razor blades indicates. That is more Hollywood hype and bad science written by advertising executives that know nothing of metallurgy. 

Titanium nitride. TiN, used to coat cutting tools, is stable well past the melting point of steel. But its properties are only suitable to use as a very thin coating over a harder material. It increases wear resistance. 

The use of Titanium in steel is usually limited to VERY small amounts used to scavenge nitrogen from the melt when using boron as a hardenabiltiy agent. Titanium itself does not make an appreciable difference in alloying the steel. Those selling the superior properties of "Titanium Steel" are playing on the customer's ignorance and the sexiness of the word "titanium".