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Look what I found! Kasenit
- Thread starter spdguns
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DWalt
Member
I tried to find some awhile back and no one had it. Was told the company had gone out of business. There may be similar products sold under other names. It is used for surface hardening of mild (low carbon) steel.
Last edited:
OP
spdguns
Member
The current equivalent is called "Cherry Red" and it's on Amazon
Brownells also sells a case hardening compound for "low carbon" steels......
BROWNELLS SURFACE HARDENING COMPOUND | Brownells
BROWNELLS SURFACE HARDENING COMPOUND | Brownells
schutzen-jager
Member
provides surface hardening , but does not provide the coloring most case hardened parts have -
Pig Hunter
Member
Works great for hardening parts made from low carbon steel like screws and firing pins. hold the part with tweezers or needle nose you don't care if you make soft. heat the part cherry red , stick it in the can to cover with the powder. heat it cherry red again and quench the part in a glass of water. Easy to use and safer than the new stuff.
I've used it for 40 or more years.
Works beautifully.
Simple and efficient.
Use on low carbon steel like cold rolled or 12L14.
A propane torch is all thats needed unless the part is too big to bring the entire piece to a red heat.
Heat the part up in the open air holding on with an old pliers like pig hunter says or even wound up on a piece of iron wire.
Once at red heat, roll the part on the Kasenite powder till it's covered with it. It'll start to stick to the part as it slightly melts and adheres.
Back into the heat and back to red heat again.
The powder will start to melt & be consumed as it's being heated. Roll the part in the powder again if you want to build up the layer again.
Reheat to red and let it consume the melted powder on the surface.
When you're are satisfied with the time in the heat stage, plunge the part into a bucket of water. I use room temp water w/ good results. Others use cold water. I try and avoid cracking anything. Parts come out glass hard in room temp water just fine.
Protect your eyes and face especially at this stage as the remaining Kasenite melted material on the part will POP and splatter as it hits the cool water. The part should go completely under the surface and hold it there. I usually swirl it around a bit.
Pull it out,,the part will be mostly clean of any melted Kasenite and leaves you with a clean, dull grey surface.
Check the hardness with your European Gunsmiths Metal Hardness Tester..a hand file.
A fine or med cut file should glide right across the surface of the part like a piece of glass.
The 'Case' will only be a few .000" deep. But that is the beauty of the process. The part remains strong with a soft core, not brittle all the way through. Glass hard surfaces for wear and engagement.
Excellent for hardening sears, hammers and all sorts of moving parts.
Kasenite is Sodium Ferrocyanide
That chemical name alone will strike fear in many.,,and I think it did as the product pretty much disappeared from the market.
Sodium Ferrocyanide is also known a Prussiate(sp) of Soda and has long been used in everything from a food additive to a steel case hardening agent.
Older gunsmithing books usually have a shop casehardening recipe for use on small parts that uses Prussiate of Soda,,sometimes listed as 'Yellow' Prussiate of Soda.
I still see some ads for Kasenite on the Web, or did. But places that used to sell it freely don't anymore like Brownells and Midway.
The replacement stuff like CherryRed is a Nitriding (correct term?) hardener. They usually contain Potassium Nitrate and a Chromium compound.
It still surface hardens but through a different chemical process., and no scarry cyanide chemical name in the MSDS.
You use and apply it the same way though as Kasenite,,torch, red heat, quench, ect.
I believe the stuff Brownells sells now is a Nitriding compound w/ Chromium and Potassium Nitrate.
Probably just the CherryRed stuff repackaged for Brownells with their brand on it.
Works beautifully.
Simple and efficient.
Use on low carbon steel like cold rolled or 12L14.
A propane torch is all thats needed unless the part is too big to bring the entire piece to a red heat.
Heat the part up in the open air holding on with an old pliers like pig hunter says or even wound up on a piece of iron wire.
Once at red heat, roll the part on the Kasenite powder till it's covered with it. It'll start to stick to the part as it slightly melts and adheres.
Back into the heat and back to red heat again.
The powder will start to melt & be consumed as it's being heated. Roll the part in the powder again if you want to build up the layer again.
Reheat to red and let it consume the melted powder on the surface.
When you're are satisfied with the time in the heat stage, plunge the part into a bucket of water. I use room temp water w/ good results. Others use cold water. I try and avoid cracking anything. Parts come out glass hard in room temp water just fine.
Protect your eyes and face especially at this stage as the remaining Kasenite melted material on the part will POP and splatter as it hits the cool water. The part should go completely under the surface and hold it there. I usually swirl it around a bit.
Pull it out,,the part will be mostly clean of any melted Kasenite and leaves you with a clean, dull grey surface.
Check the hardness with your European Gunsmiths Metal Hardness Tester..a hand file.
A fine or med cut file should glide right across the surface of the part like a piece of glass.
The 'Case' will only be a few .000" deep. But that is the beauty of the process. The part remains strong with a soft core, not brittle all the way through. Glass hard surfaces for wear and engagement.
Excellent for hardening sears, hammers and all sorts of moving parts.
Kasenite is Sodium Ferrocyanide
That chemical name alone will strike fear in many.,,and I think it did as the product pretty much disappeared from the market.
Sodium Ferrocyanide is also known a Prussiate(sp) of Soda and has long been used in everything from a food additive to a steel case hardening agent.
Older gunsmithing books usually have a shop casehardening recipe for use on small parts that uses Prussiate of Soda,,sometimes listed as 'Yellow' Prussiate of Soda.
I still see some ads for Kasenite on the Web, or did. But places that used to sell it freely don't anymore like Brownells and Midway.
The replacement stuff like CherryRed is a Nitriding (correct term?) hardener. They usually contain Potassium Nitrate and a Chromium compound.
It still surface hardens but through a different chemical process., and no scarry cyanide chemical name in the MSDS.
You use and apply it the same way though as Kasenite,,torch, red heat, quench, ect.
I believe the stuff Brownells sells now is a Nitriding compound w/ Chromium and Potassium Nitrate.
Probably just the CherryRed stuff repackaged for Brownells with their brand on it.
Just read a 1926 adv for Kasenit that says its not poisonous. Soo ?
Protocall_Design
Vendor
Other heat treating processes used cyanide, making this one much safer to work with.
