G'Day Guys
Just wondering if you could help me out. Have you got any tips on heat blueing fittings as in guards etc.
Also wondering the best type of steel to use.
Regards from Australia
Ben Hall

Ben,
Are you talking about hot blueing such as Nitre/Caustic Soda Blueing, or heat/fire blueing?

I've had a little bit of experience (very little) with heat/fire blueing. The guard on the knife below was done with just heat. The steel is 1084. The blade is forged from 1084 and the guard was made of a leftover piece from the forging.

http://www.primosknives.com/public_images/fg-bowie.jpg

I had experimented with blueing the steel at the forge, and with a torch. Both worked, but the results were splotchy and uneven. I wanted a nice smooth solid blue. I ended up trying the kitchen oven and that worked great.

The piece was thoroughly cleaned first with window cleaner containing ammonia, then rinsed in hot water, and dried with a cotton cloth. I wore thin plastic gloves to make sure that I didn't get any finger oils on the steel. Next it was placed in the kitchen oven. Kitchen ovens are not particularly accurate which means temps will vary, and also as you know, different steels produce varying oxide colors at any given temperature. So remember, these temps were using 1084 steel, using my oven. You will need to experiment.

The guard was held at about 450 degrees F. (which is about 232 degrees C.) for 2 hours. I did this three times, allowing the piece to cool in between heatings. After the final heating I put a coat of wax on the guard and buffed lighlty with a cotton cloth. For what it's worth, the wax I used was plain old neutral (no color) Kiwi shoe wax. There's nothing magic about the shoe wax, it was just handy.

If you are actually looking for info on hot blueing with salts, etc. maybe someone else will will chime in. Hope this helped.

just take a torch and burn the mother......you can take a thick piece of copper and heat it up...place the part on it for a morfe evne heat. Stop when the right color is there.

Certain steels blue better than others, but it is simple to do.
Polish everything just the way you want it to end up,
clean each part VERY well,(finger prints are bad)
Use a propane torch and put heat into it evenly,
it turns a dark gold just before turning blue, watch the edges to turn first.
Over heating it causes you to loose the darker colors, if it turns pale just buff it off and start over again.
Be ready to cool it quickly if needed.
A slow and steady heat is best.
I feather the flame when it starts turning, so I don't over shoot the colors.
Once it is cool, COAT it(the color is only surface deep) with a wax or oil.

You can get some truly great effects with saltpeter brine(as used in ham making). Just heat iron or steel in a neutral oxy flame and quench very briefly in still brine. For a deeper more even job, de grease work,then boil in clean water and whilst still hot (and just dry) swab with COLD blueing solution, then boil in the water for a minute or two. A teaspoon full of cold blue liquid in a cup of hot/boiling water will also do a good job. Be sure to oil, grease or wax immediately it is dry. Yho can polish with a cloth when cool.