How strange...

There were 2 things that baffled me in Dark Souls:

1) The "Washing Pole" is a katana, the last thing it does it wash, unless you count washing off blood of your opponent's body, then that's fine.
2) The Dragon Bone Fist is made out of a soul...of a golem...made of iron...How is this dragon?

Maaaaaaaaybe the golem is/was Dovahkiin?

The name "Washing Pole" is a reference to the weapon wielded by the
famous Japanese swordsman Sasaki Kojirō (佐々木 小次郎), and his famous weapon
of choice, a straight-edged Nodachi with a recorded length of over
150cm long. This weapon was named the "Monohoshi Zao", often translated
in English as "The Drying Pole" - Taken from the wiki.

As my current weapon in PVP, I had to look up its backstory

I remember reading somewhere that Washing Pole was like an interesting error in translation with something else (in history, not to Dark Souls), not too sure, but I felt it was a reference to that.

Also, look at the soul, the soul was once a bone of an everlasting dragon. The Giant Blacksmith just turns it back into its old form.