I found my Kasenit!

Alan H.

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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.
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Same here - have a can from the early '80s (been opened one time for one small part). What makes it special? Aren't there equivalent product readily available?
 
Great!! Now have to start digging around to find an old can of it that I had. It was LONG before the '70's though.
This could ruin my whole weekend! THANKS! :mad:

CHuck the grumpy old guy

Maybe I'll just dig around the refrigerator for a few beers.:beer mugs:
 
I also have an old can of Kasenit. The difference is that it also has cyanide in it, which is poisonous. The cyanide also nitrided the work. The work was both carburized and nitrided.
 
I had no idea they stopped making Kasenit. I used my can just last weekend and like some of you guys, I've had it since back in the 80's.
 
I also have an old can of Kasenit. The difference is that it also has cyanide in it, which is poisonous. The cyanide also nitrided the work. The work was both carburized and nitrided.

I have some from the sixties. Its the cyanide part that needs to be respected. Read and follow instructions very carefully.
 
The "cyanide" in Kasenit is sodium ferrocyanide. It should be treated with respect but it not poison. Read Here

I read that the demise of Kasenit was due the difficulty in sourcing this key raw material. Hydrogen cyanide is used to make the sodium ferrocyanide and that caused this salt to become more difficult to come by simply because the hydrogen cyanide (HCN) manufacturers stopped or limited shipping the HCN.

For example, here in the USA DuPont was a huge producer of HCN and supplied it to many other chemical manufacturers but in the 80's they decided that they would limit shipping it due its toxicity and risk associated with moving it in cylinders and/or rail cars. It didn't take long for other HCN producers to take the same stance. Some of the HCN producers then began to build manufacturing capacity to make derivative chemicals on site with the HCN production. So HCN was produced and then consumed within the confines of one manufacturing site.

Small volume chemicals just didn't often make the cut due to the cost of building a plant for the specific chemistry involved in a particular compound. Low demand and cost considerations put a big tangle in the supply chain for many compounds that used HCN as a raw material in their manufacture. So availability and cost put a kink in lots of user's rope. Of course, the global supply chain always steps up when there's a dollar to be made but again costs and availability becomes an issue.

So hang on to that old can of Kasenit, it is more valuable than that old can makes it appear. I am going to clean my old can up a bit and display it with pride!
 
I too have a can of that vintage that I treasure. For those that don't and who can stand a very shallow case, an old trick is to use sugar. Heat the part red hot, dip in sugar, preferably repeatedly, then quench. It won't give quite the hardness or depth, but it will harden the surface satisfactorily for many uses.
 
Thanks, Alan. "poisonous" was perhaps not the correct word to use. It is only dangerous if the cyanide is set free from the stable molecule. My understanding was (and is) that the cyanide is liberated when it is heated for case hardening, so use Kasenit with good ventilation and don't breathe the vapors given off when it is heated. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Edit: The dry Kasenit in the can is dangerous if it gets wet. Keep it dry at all times.
 
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