You can create a case-color-like appearance with heat.
I tried to "nitre blue" some parts in molten stump killer, could not get the thicker parts hot enough to turn black, but they did have a mottled, multi-colored surface that looked a lot like case-coloring.
The effect was much more apparent on matte than polished parts.
Colt never casehardened auto frames, but they did finish small parts that way; I think the thumb safety and grip safety on Vest Pocket .25s were casehardened.
"A grip safety is just another excess moving part. I have never known one to prevent an accident, and moreover, it is difficult to postulate a circumstance in which it might." Jeff Cooper
Bookmarks