irontosteel

Irontosteel is a fictional iron-based alloy featured in fantasy literature, games, and media. The name combines iron with steel, and the material is typically described as having superior strength, hardness, and resilience relative to ordinary steel. In many depictions it also possesses magical or alchemical properties, such as resistance to corrosion or the ability to resist magical effects.

Origin and lore vary by work. In dwarven myth, irontosteel is produced in ancient forges using star metal and runic infusions. In others, it is created through a process that fuses iron with a mythical alloy called tosteel or infused carbon, sometimes requiring special furnaces and ritual calibration.

Properties and limitations: It is usually extremely hard and tough, capable of withstanding great blows and providing excellent edge retention, but often difficult to work with; inflexible, prone to cracking if overheated, and expensive to produce; some versions are magnetically reactive.

In fiction, irontosteel is used for weapons, armor, and artifacts; in role-playing games, it is a rare material requiring specialized smithing. There is no real-world alloy by this name. The term is used as a storytelling device to convey superior quality and mystery.