So close to a catastrophic fail

Oh. What would it mean if it wasn't, Im confused. I thought it probably meant 50mm of thread on the steerer tube? My broken forks go forward a lot at the end though

Obligatory Sheldon link on fork rake;

http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_ra-e.html#rake

Most modern forks have a rake of 43-47 mm. 50 mm is quite a lot and will increase the trail of your frame which should, if my understanding of these things is correct, make your steering a little slower than before.

I'd try it and see. You can always sell the forks on if you don't get on with them.