What counts as Cold Iron?

[Mal_Luck]

Cold Iron seems to be one of the most common catches, but what exactly counts as cold iron? I mean are all bullets cold iron?

I tried searching Your Story, but couldn't find much mention of it.

[Deadmanwalking]

Bullets aren't normally, since they're lead, but steel-jacketed round appear to count (at least, they seem to have in Summer Knight).

That said, I'd be interested in an answer as well. Does steel in general count? That's...really broad actually.

[Moriden]

as far as the books appear to be concerned any iron and most steal works. which is a very different thing that "cold iron" but that's the precedent that's been established.

[JosephKell]

Bullets aren't normally, since they're lead, but steel-jacketed round appear to count (at least, they seem to have in Summer Knight).

That said, I'd be interested in an answer as well. Does steel in general count? That's...really broad actually.

I won't get into real life stuff (because who cares, it is a game).  But in game terms your bullets can be whatever you want.

However it seems to be harder to get steel jacketed rounds (I did an internet price check to no avail, not that I tried too hard) than copper alloyed (most seem to be 90 to 95% copper with either nickle or zinc to help prevent corrosion).  Most armor piercing rounds tend to be steel jacketed (if not also steel cored), so that might be related.

[chadu]

I won't get into real life stuff (because who cares, it is a game).

I am utterly convinced, in real world folklore, that people have utterly misinterpreted the phrase "cold iron".

"Cold iron burns faeries" is the basic folklore.

People have thus tried to figure out what "cold iron" means -- is it cold-worked iron, does it include steel, must it be meteoric iron, etc.

I think people are overthinking.

Remember, in folklore, one can thwart the faeries by turning your clothes inside-out. So, "cold iron" is just a reversal. That is, I read it so:

"Cold (room-temperature) iron burns faeries (as if it were red-hot)."

In the Dresdenverse, it's way more expanded than that, but I think starting from the idea that all iron and steel are poison to the fae is a good way to go.

[void]

... Chadu, your post is the best post on cold iron I've randomly stumbled across in forever. I'm going to be borrowing your logic for a long time to come.

[Rel Fexive]

Definitely the simplest answer, and so the best.

[Lord_Fizzle]

Occam's razored!

[Llayne]

The Gruffs use submachine guns, at least according to their stat blocks, so it can't be all metal.

[Deadmanwalking]

The SMGs could've been specially made of non-ferrous materials. Or the Gruffs could be wearing gloves. I'm not saying it is all metal, but it could be. The Gruffs using guns isn't good evidence one way or the other.

[iago]

Steel and iron are both supported by the series to date. So iron alloys and iron itself.

[Rumda]

I wonder if there is a certain threshold percentage of iron in an alloy that below which it no longer acts as the bane...

[iago]

I wonder if there is a certain threshold percentage of iron in an alloy that below which it no longer acts as the bane...

If there is, it's a moving target, not a fixed one. Even Bob says (in an earlier novel) that the formulations for certain magic elements aren't always the same due to the way magic ebbs and flows. 

(At least I seem to recall him saying something like that. Getting a specific book and page reference would take more time than I currently have.)

So I'd be inclined to apply the same logic to efforts to "science up" magic too much -- at least in my game -- because that de-magics magic for me.

[Moriden]

(At least I seem to recall him saying something like that. Getting a specific book and page reference would take more time than I currently have.)

First or second book, couldn't tell you which though as i just rapidly went through both. im inclined to say its the first in the scene when bob is talking harry into makeing a love potion.

[Sebastian]

During Fool Moon Bob says you still need inherited silver to kill a Loup-Garou. That rule hasn't changed since an undisclosed date.