Padeye, et al.: Oil quenching metal as a tempering method seems to work better than just plain water quenching, but it’s a mess and IMHO you can get pretty much similar results by “stirring” the workpiece in the water.
Indeed - taken to extremes with the weapon called the urumi, described here, which I find absolutely terrifying. Basically, a narrow five-foot long double-edged blade, flexible enough to be coiled round in a neat circle. (The site doesn’t have pictures, unfortunately.) How you learn to use one of these things without lopping off your own appendages is, frankly, beyond me.
Found a piccy of the urumi, on a French language site. It’s the one at the bottom. Worrying.
(Apparently, there’s also some sort of percussion instrument called an urumi. I suspect it’s best not to confuse the two.)
Some Wushu blades are also frighteningly flexible, allowing a master swordsman to “pop” with the blade, tearing-up armor lacing, or even slipping it through narrow gaps in armor, where the razor-edged blade can create devestating wounds.
That urumi looks like a razor-edged steel cat o’ nine tails. ::shudder::