: Compared to typical iron or pattern-welded blades of the Viking Age, Ulfberht swords were incredibly strong, flexible, and sharp, allowing them to slice through mail armor without shattering.
: On collector forums like the Nihonto Message Board , it is often used for modern Chinese fakes that mimic Japanese signatures but lack the correct historical construction. The Sword That Shouldn't Exist
The phrase is also popular in modern gaming and fiction to describe "illegal" or overpowered weapons: : Compared to typical iron or pattern-welded blades
: They were crafted using crucible steel , a high-purity metal with a carbon content so high that the technology to create it wasn't thought to exist in Europe until the Industrial Revolution. : It has been used to describe Sephiroth's
: It has been used to describe Sephiroth's Masamune in various media, highlighting its supernatural length and power.
: Players use the term for "illegal" legendary items like the Soulcatcher Blade , which summons hostile mobs to fight for the user, or "God Swords" with impossible enchantment levels (e.g., Sharpness 1000).
: Each authentic blade is marked with the name "+VLFBERHT+" in a specific arrangement of crosses, which functioned like a high-end brand name in the 9th to 11th centuries. Other "Swords That Shouldn't Exist"