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OK so not that I hope to have a house fire but just something that popped into my head. Would a normal house fire produce temperatures great enough to ruin the heat treat of a blade?
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House fire effects question?
- Thread starter CryoGuy5272
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Easily. Happened to somebody here in the forum. Handles gone and HT too. :-(
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Yep, it would.
Leftytwogunz
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Some real peace of mind here. If you think about the cost of a few expensive guns, knives, ammo, optics, documents whatever the $2,000 or so really makes sense.
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Just sticking it in an oven on "high" for a little would damage the heat treat. A house fire would take hardened steel and turn it into very soft metal many times over. I imagine even if the flames never got to that room, it would be game over. A fire safe would greatly reduce the chance of this. Some handles, like Ti would probably be ok so long as the flames weren't too intense too long. I wouldn't bury them in the back yard either! 
Leftytwogunz
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... I wouldn't bury them in the back yard either!
Well, you could always oil them down and use something like these.. But I prefer to have my toys more readily available. What fun is a knife 5' under?
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I think that the knife would have to be in the immediate fire area of a fully involved structure fire for a sustained amount of time, meaning lots of fuel to burn. Most house fires in populated areas, while producing high temperatures, are relatively short events. I think that the soft materials like knife scales would be affected, but not necessarily the heat treatment. That's my $.02 based on a 27-year career as a firefighter in a major city. However; metallurgy and heat treating is not my area.
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Thanks for the answers. Been considering a firesafe for my knives. I only have one that doesn't hold sentimental value.
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Something to keep in mind with a firesafe is humidity. You need to make sure you have a dehumidifier or desiccant in the safe otherwise you'll get moisture build up and rust. Safes can be the cause of damage as much as they can protect.
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So keeping silica in the safe would be sufficient?
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As long as you have enough to match the size of safe. I use the kind that you can reuse by putting the bags in the microwave. I also have an electric dehumidifier in my primary gun safe.
Leftytwogunz
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All you need are a few of these. Can be purchased in bulk on amazon, safe sized ones can be found in the sporting goods store, or you can start collecting them now, in the random shoes and clothes that you buy in stores. As long as your knives are put away clean, and maybe have a little oil on them, in a dry environment they will be absolutely fine.
These are even good for tool boxes, fishing gear, all kinds of stuff.
This one even turns colors if it gets too moist and I believe you can dry out the pack in the oven to reuse it. Very cheap and effective.
Best of luck.
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the problem with desiccants in a fire proof safe is that the way those safes work is by holding a big bunch of water in that vermiculite layer. So you dry that out, all you've made is a kiln. Fireproof safes are generally only rated for a few minutes of fire, after 7 minutes the average new house is structurally unstable and unsafe for entry. A better option is to do your best to keep your home fire safe, keep the batteries in the smoke detectors up to date, and have good records for the insurance company. At the end of the day, its just stuff.
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Tupperware.
Most reputable home fire safes are designed to withstand a hour long fire and then also withstand being dropped from the second floor down onto a pile of rubble.
However, as gadgetgeek indicated, the safe retains latten moisture that is intended to be released within the safe when the safe is exposed to high heat.
This is what protects the important paperwork inside from reaching the charring point.
Gun and/or media safes have a ceramic liner to combat the damages that would be caused by this latten moisture.
In a normal house fire safe (paper safe) the only way to protect the contents from this type of water/moisture damage would be to put these types of items in a waterproof container first.
Tupperware
Most reputable home fire safes are designed to withstand a hour long fire and then also withstand being dropped from the second floor down onto a pile of rubble.
However, as gadgetgeek indicated, the safe retains latten moisture that is intended to be released within the safe when the safe is exposed to high heat.
This is what protects the important paperwork inside from reaching the charring point.
Gun and/or media safes have a ceramic liner to combat the damages that would be caused by this latten moisture.
In a normal house fire safe (paper safe) the only way to protect the contents from this type of water/moisture damage would be to put these types of items in a waterproof container first.
Tupperware
