case hardening

J

john warren

Joined
Oct 7, 2005
Messages
95
ok,,, i know i knew this at one time, ive owned a portable welding shop for decades.... but what is case hardening?
 
Adding carbon and/or nitrogen to the surface of the steel .You start out with a low carbon steel and then add a 'case ' of hardened steel when heat treated. This results in a hard wear resistant surface and a tough core. Not much use in blades but great for bearings and gears.
 
IIRC, it's when you take something made of a low-carbon alloy that can't be hardened, and add carbon to the outside of the part so that it can be hardened. You usually cover the part or pack the part in some sort of case-hardening compound, then cook it and quench it. The compound carburizes the outer layer of the part as it heats up so that it can be quenched.

They do it with gears and other things that have to be really tough but also have wear surfaces.

-Allin
 
Plus, it looks fabulous! I have done it on bolsters. It's a real pita to get it right, though.
 
yes jhiggins, thats what i was thinking. i have a colt .45 singleaction pistol with a birdshead grip thats got casehardened frame parts, really look awsome. figured if i could do it it could make nice looking parts on a knife
 
The charcoal source seemingly has quite a bit to do with the results when trying to "color caseharden". I've seen "recipes" that use walnut or pecan hulls, bone charcoal, and hardwood charcoal. Supposedly those produce a more brilliant color spectrum than commercial compounds like Kasenit.
 
fitzo said:
The charcoal source seemingly has quite a bit to do with the results when trying to "color caseharden". I've seen "recipes" that use walnut or pecan hulls, bone charcoal, and hardwood charcoal. Supposedly those produce a more brilliant color spectrum than commercial compounds like Kasenit.
Click to expand...

Hi Mike! *waves*

I was doing mine with mesquite chips, but the best colors I ever got was from walnut shells mixed into my homemade oak charcoal. It's pretty. In a pinch you can wrap everything up in aluminum foil and set beside your campfire next to the coals as if you were baking a tater.
 
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