Flame cutting (firearms)

Flame cutting is a destructive phenomenon that occurs in some firearms (usually revolvers) as a result of hot gases under high pressure.

The most common manifestation is on the underside of a revolver top strap, where the hot, high-velocity gases released when a round is fired begin to cut through just above and in front of the cylinder.^[1] In most cases, this is self-limiting; eventually, the depth of the cut will place the undamaged material far enough away that the heat and pressure of the gas will have dissipated to harmless levels.^[2] This limiting tends to occur before structural integrity is compromised.