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...The most common method of manufacture of ancient blades was casting in open sand molds, and the liquid steel always looks oddly like lead (silvery, not incandescent)

My sons got me watching Game of Thrones finally, (I always wait until most of the population has moved on with these trendy shows before I sneak in and watch them in peace later), a very engaging and entertaining story line but some of the most atrocious swords and fight choreography I have seen. Anyhow, not long after I posted the above myth I go to the scene where the Stark Valyrian steel sword is remade- by melting it down and casting in open sand molds!!! <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//biggrin.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' /> Since that steel is essentially cast iron (or most likely bronze for the filming) I think I would take my chances with the common steel the peasants use.

The ultimate irony is that there was a short close up of the Stark sword and it appeared to be a prop made from some unimpressive random pattern welded material. So, they started with an actual pattern welded blade that they then reduced to cast iron. Oh well no big loss, considering how hideous the new swords were that were made from it, I imagine these are the kind of swords Liberace would have made if he had been a swordsmith.

One could make the argument that many of these are not true myths but bad Hollywood concepts, but in modern times where are our myths spawned? We don't have an oral tradition around a fire anymore, instead we have bad information repeated so often on the big screen, T.V. screens, LCD screens and monitors, that it becomes part of our common information base and traditions. From actual urban myths to "it's true, I saw it on the internet", where does our modern mythology come from?

Jim Bowie's knife was made from a meteorite. Seriously had a guy tell me that once.

I had no idea where he got that myth from until I watched "The Iron Mistress".

I learned basically all I know from "Intro to bladesmithing". No one came out of the school believing in any myths. If anyone said anything about a "I heard", he was corrected by the very competent instructors. I still credit the ABS with teaching me what I need to know. I still use the methods I learned at the school, and guess what, they work! I never met a mastersmith that believed in any "myths".

You harden a blade by making it orange in a fire and dunk it in water. This procedure applies to all steels. Read this many times on different fora, makes me go nuts.