This may have ben addressed previously, but I was reading Hamilton Bowens book and if I understood correctly The wonderful colors produced by heating low carbon steel in a charcoal pack crucible will not be recreated with more modern high carbon steels. Hence the cyanide bath to attempt to recreate the colors without the hard skin that isn't needed with the lower carbon. I have a late 30's Sterlingworth and if I remember my reserch they switched to cyanide for late production. Does this indicate the use of a higher carbon steel later in production?
