blued finish?

[Murnax]

check out the revolvers pictured here on ruger's website:
http://66.152.254.150/Firearms/index.html
http://66.152.254.150/Firearms/FAProdView?model=580&return=Y

Does anyone know anything about the finish on these firearms (the one on the left in the first link). I tried finding info about it on google, but couldn't come up with much. I think it is called blued, but I'm not sure. How is this done? Could this be applied to a knife blade? It sure is nice looking. Thanks for any info you might have.

 

[leroys_45]

The multi-colored part is called color case hardening. It looks nice and also hardens the steel to a depth of a few thousands of an inch. There are a few ways of doing it, but all require heat as it's a hardening process as well. I don't recall off hand how much, but it could be enough to mess with the temper of the blade. I'm not sure if the coloring would be very durable in use on a knife.

Anyone with gunsmithing experience can tell you a lot more about the process and qualities.