# Melting point of swords



## Dave Watson (Sep 5, 2012)

Here's one for any resident metalurgists.

Is it true that swords and other weapons made of steel and iron would survive a forest fire?

I've  looked it up, and the melting point of these metals is 2600 - 2800  degrees Fahrenheit, while forest fires only burn up to about 600  degrees. Going by that, I'm assuming that the steel and iron in any  weapons left in a fire of that kind would survive, right? Would it warp or deform though?

Thought  I'd ask on here to make sure I'm not about to put a massive plot  hole in the story. Google can be a bit unreliable at times in regard to  accurate information.


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## Potty (Sep 5, 2012)

They would survive but may loose their temper and become somewhat brittle or less able to keep an edge.


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## Bloggsworth (Sep 5, 2012)

No simple answer to that. Different woods burn at different temperatures, eucalyptus, being oily, will burn at quite a high temperature; the temperature of the fire would vary with the wind strength and barometric pressure. How steel would react depends on how the fire is extinguished; if it cools slowly as a result of the fire dying down naturally, it may get softer, if it cools quickly because it has started to rain on the fire it may be half-hard, if quenched rapidly by the action of fire crews it may be hardened; but in the industrial processing of metals the temperatures and rates at which these processes are carried out have to be precisely controlled, so any accidental processing and its effect would be down to chance.


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## Dave Watson (Sep 5, 2012)

See, that's why I love this forum. It's just a paragon of information.

In the story, the fire is on a moor coated with heather and dried gorse which has been soaked in oil. No wind to speak of, and the fire burns al night before being extinguished by rain.


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## dolphinlee (Sep 28, 2012)

Having seen controlled burning on a moor the heather/gorse burn well on their own. 

You say the fire burns all night. If you mean it moves from A to B   I understand.  However one spot will burn and then go out within 15 mins max. If you have doused this area in oil then each part will burn for a little longer. Each bit of gorse or heather would act like a candle wick and burn the oil quickly. 

Problems  (assuming the book is set on our world)

Sorry but what sort of oil?  Over what area?  I am assuming that this is times past.  Why would anyone coat a large area?  Could they afford to? 

If it is post 1850 then people would use kerosene/paraffin.  This would either evaporate if left on too long before the fire was started. Or the whole area would go woommpphhh! 

And you thought your problem was the sword!

If we are talking a normal fire moving across a moor, then a sword 'dropped' there would be subjected to a few hundred degrees for say ten minutes.  This would not be a problem.  The sword would not loose that much strength.

Dave, do you need the moor to burn all night?   How about having peat under the moor.  The top layer would burn and the fire would spread.  You'd need a downpour to put it out.

BUT then you would need to have the sword in an area of *no* peat.  Dropped into a small brook? 


"Out manouvered on all sides I opt to change the rules." - Robert Jones


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