15 Lies About Swords You Probably Believe Because of Movies
![15 Lies About Swords You Probably Believe Because of Movies](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/2/769822_320x180.jpg)
Swords. Good Lord, do we love swords here. It’s the coolest, most popular weapon and/or tool ever invented. Every hero worth their salt has one. Samurai, knights, JEDI??! Gah, all the coolest people have swords. Remember that badass from Lord Of The Rings? Eowyn? When she breaks out a surprise sword and kills a villain so impossibly evil he doesn't have a face is named “THE WITCH KING?” Swords! Swords are so cool! Man, sorry, we lost our minds for a little bit. No seriously, we got our toy lightsabers out and went and played in the backyard for a while. We are in no way joking, and only God can judge us.
Anyway we’re sure you can name at least five epic blades off the top of your head. And yet, pervasive as swords are in popular culture, we barely know anything about them. Oh yes, we think we know a lot -- but much of that is wrong. That’s what happens when you get your facts from movies, traveling bards, or websites that aren’t Cracked.
But we’re here to fix that. Here, let us hone your knowledge with these edgy facts.
![Katanas aren't really all that kick-ass. All the fastidious metal-folding by the swordsmith wasn't to make katanas awesome - it was to compensate for the low-quality steel available to forge them.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/7/769827.jpg)
More: 6 Things Movies Get Wrong About Swords (An Inside Look)
![Sword fights weren't all about the sword. Yes, you'd try to strike your opponent with your blade but you'd also grab at them, punch them, and kick them. The idea that these were dirty tricks comes from the 18th-19th centuries.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/2/769832.jpg)
![Grabbing the blade isn't always a bad idea. Historical fighting manuals include half-swording techniques, where you grab the blade for a stronger thrust, or to use your sword as a hammer.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/9/769829.jpg)
Source: Skallagrim on YouTube
![You really shouldn't carry your sword on your back. Unless the sword is really short (shorter than your arm), you will just be unable to draw it. All you'll get is a fully outstretched arm for your foe to hack at, and no means to defend yourself.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/6/769826.jpg)
Source: FightWrite
![A claymore isn't a two-handed greatsword. Historically, the term claymore referred to a sword with a basket hilt used by Scottish soldiers. The word only started meaning a two-handed sword in Victorian times.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/3/769833.jpg)
Source: Keith Farrell
![Rapiers aren't light, nimble swords. Inigo Montoya makes his sword look pretty much weightless, but historical rapiers are in the same weight range as medieval longswords- about 2.5-4 pounds.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/9/769839.jpg)
Source: Arms & Armor
![Blood grooves aren't a thing. No matter what your frat bro told you- that groove along the blade isn't there to let the blood flow and stop the sword from getting stuck in your enemy's guts. The groove, called a fuller, exists only to make the sword lighter.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/8/769838.jpg)
More: 6 Things Movies Get Wrong About Swords (An Inside Look)
![Swords don’t start as molten metal. It looks rad as hell in Conan movies, but real swords aren’t made by melting metal and pouring it into a cast. Do that, and you’ll have the weakest sword ever, good only for decoration.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/7/769837.gif)
More: 6 Things Movies Get Wrong About Swords (An Inside Look)
![Swords were never quenched in living people. ine 1319 lons 9s De Stick soft, glowing-h hot metal into a bone- filled person, and chances are it'll bend. Even if it doesn't, you'll get an uneven cooling, resulting in a crappy sword.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/6/769836.jpg)
More: 6 Things Movies Get Wrong About Swords (An Inside Look)
![Sai aren't small swords. Sai don't have a sharp edge. They're blunt weapons, used to bludgeon people or defend yourself against other people's swords.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/1/769831.jpg)
Source: Technology Org
![Two-handed swords aren't impossibly heavy. While not exactly the lightest weapon around, the typical two-hander weighs 5-7 pounds, and isn't as unwieldy as its size might make it look. (Much heavier swords were made, but those were ceremonial).](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/5/769835.jpg)
![Greatswords aren't medieval. Two-handed greatswords became a thing in the late 1500s- during the Renaissance, not the Middle Ages. Terms like Zweihander are even more recent, and weren't used historically.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/4/769834.jpg)
![Sword duels didn't work like in movies. Block too many swings with the edge of your blade, and you'll end up with a blunt, broken sword. That's why medieval and Renaissance fighting manuals devote exactly zero time to such parries.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/5/769825.jpg)
More: 5 Weapon Myths You Probably Believe (Thanks to Movies)
![Iron swords didn't replace bronze swords because they were better. There wasn't much of a quality difference between bronze and iron weapons. Iron swords, however, were much easier to make, as iron ore was readily available everywhere.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/0/769830.jpg)
Source: MartialArtSwords.com
![Swords don't go schwing when you draw them. To get that dramatic sound, you'd need a metal sheath- -and not minding that all the scraping will blunt your edge. Drawing from a leather or wood sheath barely makes any sound.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/8/769828.jpg)
Source: scholagladiatoria on YouTube