I found my Kasenit!

[Alan H.]

Okay - proof that you have one! Thanks for the photo.

 

[Silverbullet]

YUPP. I've got a can in a bunch of polishing wheels and compounds stored in a box in my attic. Someday it'll get found and I hope make some money for my grandkids. I'll never be able to get up there to get it. When we moved everything was stored till needed. Things didn't go as I planned so there it sits. When I wanted to open a gunsmith shop , the costs to comply with all there regs. Was just way out of my reach . So the materials to do the polishing and treating are stored, felt wheels hard and soft sisal wheels too. Different compounds to polish steel , wax stick . YUPP I was prepared had tanks burners racks for bluing.

 

[Matustahl]

I made a small part today out of some very poor quality steel. I was really just playing and when I go finished I wished I had used a better grade of material. I decided I would try to case harden it.

So I went on a mission of trying to find an old can of Kasenit that I have had since the early 80's. I thought I might have thrown it out but I found it!

Did a little research and found out this stuff is no longer made and a can of it is valuable. My lucky day.
View attachment 230686

In German whe use "gelbes Blutlaugensalz". It cost 17 Euro for a pound.

Greating
Bernhard

 

[Alan H.]

Bernhard, looks like that is potassium ferrocyanide instead of the sodium ferrocyanide in the Kasenit.

 

[cjtoombs]

You can get a compound called Cherry Red for case hardening. My understanding is that it doesn't work as well as Kasenite, but I have seen no definitive proof of that. I have some and have used it. Seemed to do what I wanted it to.

 

[Alan H.]

Yes, I have seen the Cherry Red. It is not the same as the potassium or sodium ferrocyanides and I have read that it may not work quite as well but I cannot confirm that with personal experience.

Cherry Red is made of potassium nitrate and chromium oxide.

 

[KBeitz]

I'm a collector of old Gilbert stuff... I still play with mercury...
I harden my tools and stuff with carbon out of D cell batteries.
I take the battery apart to get the carbon and then I smash it up with
a hammer. Then I wrap it in a special foil wit my tool and heat...

 

[RJSakowski]

I'm a collector of old Gilbert stuff... I still play with mercury...
I harden my tools and stuff with carbon out of D cell batteries.
I take the battery apart to get the carbon and then I smash it up with
a hammer. Then I wrap it in a special foil wit my tool and heat...

If you're referring to alkaline manganese cells, the black gunk between the central rod is primarily manganese dioxide with a bit of graphite added. The old zinc-carbon dry cell has similarly formulated black gunk but a central carbon rod.

If you are using the carbon rods, why not just use charcoal briquettes instead?

When I was doing some blacksmithing, I could get a fairly decent case by simply soaking the iron in a bed of glowing coke. This was particularly effective on thin sections due to the higher percentage of the steel being affected by the case hardening.

 

[cjtoombs]

If you're referring to alkaline manganese cells, the black gunk between the central rod is primarily manganese dioxide with a bit of graphite added. The old zinc-carbon dry cell has similarly formulated black gunk but a central carbon rod.

If you are using the carbon rods, why not just use charcoal briquettes instead?

When I was doing some blacksmithing, I culde get a fairly decent case by simply soaking the iron in a bed of glowing coke. This was particularly effective on thin sections due to the higher percentage of the steel being affected by the case hardening.

My understanding is that wood charcoal or other fairly pure forms of carbon tend to be very slow to absorb into the steel, making them not as good for surface hardening. Charcoal made from leather, due to the tanning additives, works much faster. You can also mix some of the comercialy availbale hardening comounds in with charcoal or other forms of carbon, as these contain the additives which accelerate the absorption of the carbon.

 

[Brian Hutchings]

If you have Kasenit in tins then I would suggest that you transfer it to glass jars with non-metalic lids.
My tin of Kasenit (admittedly 40 years old) disintegrated when I picked it up to use it recently!
Brian