Beautiful barrels Bruce.
E. Heuse-Lemoine of Liege wrote in 1884 that the pattern coloring and contrast was dependent on the source of the coal, the source of the iron (and alloys present), and whether charcoal, coke, or coal was used by the smelter.
And of course the chemicals then used for blacking.
It has been suggested that higher levels of manganese in the very low carbon steel yield a darker black, or maybe related to one of these (toxic) chemicals:
Muriate Tincture of Steel (Red oxide of iron [Ferrous chloride] and muriatic acid)
Sp. Wine (Methylated Spirits or methyl alcohol)
Muriate of Mercury
Nitric Acid
Blue Stone (Copper sulfate or Blue Vitriol)
|
Threaded Mode