Blank firing TT (Tokarev) 1937

PPU · Subject: Re: Blank firing TT (Tokarev) 1937 Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:31 pm

Quote:

I haven't seen it on other weapons to the degree it is on the SVT-40s - AK's or SKS's.

I saw this on Luger P08

pitfighter · Subject: Re: Blank firing TT (Tokarev) 1937 Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:18 pm

Nice purple Luger!

Edited - working nights for a month, a little delirious, wrote too much info. first time around.

And, no, I was not really about to fly to the Ukraine to collect this gun, it was a fantasy episode, lol.

smootik · Subject: Re: Blank firing TT (Tokarev) 1937 Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:52 pm

pitfighter wrote:

Who knows the nasty stuff they used to use to color metal

Friend who worked on steel production said it is most likely from heating treatement. When steel is heated and then suddenly cooled in oil (to change its properties), steel surface colour also changes depending on maximum temperature reached.

He is not sure if there is a particular treatment that would change colour long time after manufacture (like slow oxidation).

Table below is scanned from an old Polish book on steel processing.
Colours are approximate only, same goes for naming (we need a woman to give names to colours ;-) )

Quote:

250C = yellowish / purple
260C = purple
270C = dark purple / red
280C = dark blue / violet
290C = dark blue

It is interesting to note that in the past steel has been used sometimes as an approximate max temperature meter. In range between 200-400C it changed surface colour (after cooling of course). In range 500C-1300C it glowed with different colours.

He warned not to attempt heating steel objects at home, unless it is known they are pure steel. In the past, smaller steel parts (like nuts, bolts) have been sometimes plated with cadmium (poisoning kidneys!), not zinc.