Knives from a safe in a fire ???

[CASE XX PEANUTS]

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of what happens to your knives, how much damage is done, when they are in a safe after a fire ??? What fire rating is the minimum to buy ??? I always wondered if it would melt composites or celluloids? Does it blacken stag, etc,etc ???

[Owd Wullie]

Depends on the safe and the intensity and duration of the fire I'd say.

Be kind of hard to tell.

[rangerbluedog]

The average business fire in the United States burns at approximately 800°F for 20 minutes.* Fireproof safes and fireproof filing cabinets are UL tested to withstand a temperature of 1700°F for an entire hour.

Most fire safes are UL listed as either UL 350 or UL 125. This is the max. temperature the inside of the safe will get during the test mentioned above.

If you get a UL125 safe, I would say that your natural handled knives will not be harmed, but your celluloid will perish. The gas from your cel knives may harm the other ferrous items in the safe though - if left unattended for a long time.

*data is from http://www.klsecurity.com/fire_proof_questions.htm

I hope this helps.

[philco]

I'm an insurance adjuster and I've dealt with several situations where guns and knives were stored in a safe located in a house that had a fire. As Wullie indicated there are a lot of variables that come into play as far as determining the extent of damage (if any) that the contents of the safe sustain. As he said, the intensity of the fire and its proximity to the safe are critical factors as is the type and quality of the safe as mentioned by Rangerbluedog. I've seen some knives come through a fire unscathed and I've seen others that were toast when they were recovered.
One thing that I always caution folks about when such items have been in a fire, even if they look fine, it is imperative to clean them thouroughly as soon as possible to remove any smoke residue that may be left on the metal surfaces. Smoke from a house fire tends to be somewhat acidic and will often cause pitting if allowed to remain on the metal for even just a few days. Of course if the safe is air tight and the seal is not breached this may not be an issue, but I always believe it is best to err on the side of caution.

Phil

[gino]

Depends on the quality of the safe and how highly it is rated. depends on how hot the temp gets in the safe. How much smoke gets in. Just my opinion. common sense tho!