Discussion on the Material Selection for Santa’s Sleigh

First, let me clarify.  I am not proposing this discussion because I have any first-hand knowledge on this subject.  I am certain that if Mr. Claus were to commission someone to construct new runners for his sleigh, he would do so under an alias—like Nick O. Las from The Jolly Old Elf Distribution Company, for instance.

Anyway, where would Santa get money to pay for such a thing?  He would have to barter.  On that note, elves can type 100 words a minute, but their punctuation is less than stellar (I hear).

So, regarding the runners on Santa’s famous sleigh, you might ask, “Why do you care?”  That’s a fair question for the less “engineer-types” in the group.  Think of the sleigh runners like the tires on your car.  If the design construction, or materials are not adequate for the intended use, you could have a major issue.

I imagine, years ago, the runners were bronze. Tin and copper are easy to get and generally easy to work with.  In fact, if you look at most historical depictions, they appear to reinforce the bronze theory.

If we believe this bronze hypothesis, why would we think his sleigh runners are any different today?  Well, even 50 years ago Santa’s job was a lot easier!  There were fewer stops to make, less traffic, and if he got sighted it wasn’t tweeted to millions the next minute!  However, I do understand Santa has consulted with UPS and adopted their left turn only strategy, which has helped.  Quite frankly, the bronze just can’t stand up to the speed and directional changes required these days.  Also, bronze is heavy and fractures easily when cold.

One might say, “Aluminum would be perfect!  If it’s good enough for a Boeing triple 7, it should be great for sleigh runners.”  Let’s just say, hypothetically, Mrs. Claus is not a big fan of black aluminum oxide on Santa’s white fur trim.  And he isn’t always aware of where he’s swinging that bowl of jelly.

So, how about steel?  Snow, salt….ever heard of rust?  Leaving a rouge streak through the snow isn’t exactly stealthy.

Stainless steel, on the other hand, has all the basic properties and workability of steel without the brownish red “oxide-sauce” dripping off.  So what type?  Austenitic (300 Series) stainless steel seems like a good fit.  Martensitic might be a little too easy to fracture on impacts—like when Blitzen’s A.D.D. kicks in and he misses a command, resulting in a rough landing.  Hypothetically.

I have a trustworthy source that has confirmed that Santa has used 304 stainless with good results for several years.  My source says the only issue is corrosion, with the salt that seems to be everywhere these days and the heat from the reindeer.  (I don’t know where the heat comes from, and I didn’t ask.  I was just told that it was around 110ºF).

So we have heavy salt solution (chloride) and elevated temperatures.  It stands to reason that 18-8 (Type 304 stainless steel) would have corrosion issues.

Maybe a “St. Nick-el” alloy would work best.  But have you seen the price of nickel?  It’s about 22,000 candy canes a pound!  And Santa isn’t made of candy canes, if you know what I mean.

So what’s a jolly old elf to do when he needs a corrosion resistant material in the presence of a heated chloride solution?  It must have good weldability, suitable tensile strength and modules of elasticity, while being machinable with good general malleability.

I believe someone like St. Nick—who has little time for dealing with inferior equipment and appreciates the value of a Sukkerstang (common North Pole currency)—would pick something like AL-6XN.  Probably with electropolished runners for a better aerodynamics and mill finish bridge components.  Of course, with the money he saves he might decide to add a hand polished “S” on the back of the sleigh for a little “bling.”

Hypothetically speaking, of course.