Magic swords

Instapundit links to an article about Bronze age European use of meteorite iron, and comments that this might explain all those legends of the "magic swords".

Historians have therefore always been puzzled by the presence of some iron weapons and tools dating back to the Bronze Age, which were highly valued as rarities at the time. Where was this iron coming from? Key to answering that question is the fact that iron from meteorites falling to Earth contains a lot of nickel, whereas iron ore on the surface doesn't...
 Jambon studied museum exhibits including beads, a dagger, and a headrest. Sure enough, meteoric iron high in nickel was found across the board. Iron deposited by meteorites would've been in a ready-to-use form for metalworkers, no smelting necessary.

the article also notes King Tut was buried with an iron dagger, presumably from meteorite iron.

Ancient Chinese meteorites were also know to exist,.

And this Smithsonian book on Scribd notes that ancient China had iron weapons in 1000 BC, probably meteorite in origin. (this google book has a similar mention)

Ironically, meteorite iron was also used in the pre Columbian era in the Americas LINK:

 Even if they did not practice smelting (extracting iron from ore), they used exposed iron sources or meteorite iron. Production of iron artifacts from such sources is documented in San Jose Mogote by 1200 B.C.[1] Several tons of Olmec-era iron artifacts are known:[2] "the Olmec were a sophisticated people who possessed advanced knowledge and skill in working iron ore minerals."[3] 

and probably more, but it's hard to google since most of the stuff is in books, and there is a lot of junk science out there.

 However, it is well documented that meterorite iron was used by Eskimos in Greenland, who traded it to the west.

historic Eskimos made spears like the one above with a point made from iron mined from a meteorite

Danish researchers have found evidence that suggests ancient cultures in Greenland were making tools from a meteorite they found on the ice more than 1,200 years ago. This was nearly 300 years before Norse settlers from Iceland arrived in Greenland and are thought to have brought iron with them made from ore on Earth. 

and that UKMail article notes how American explorers stole it to put into a museum.

Smelting iron ore is only part of the problem: For swords, you need to treat the iron to make it hard and not brittle. Which is why sword making is associated with magic.