Top Gun...I had heard that same story, but not about Jerrod...THE REASON FOR THOSE TIGER STRIPED receivers I know from experience...the stripes are a function of the pack material layering...I'll try to explain...after several bakings the pack material doesn't show color as well and you have to add new material...rather than mix evenly, it's easier to just layer the old with the new, and layering results in more dramatic coloring than an even mix...those Smith boxlocks show the unmistakable evidence of being pack hardened, in layers, AND in the receivers were in the VERTICAL POSITION when the layers were packed...the reason for vertical layering was mass production based rather than a few at a time...it's easier to hang 16 at a time, evenly spaced in a special made flask, then you begin layering the old pack material with the fresh (pre-treated) material...the cyanide was used for internal parts.
As for the cyanide, it had become apparant that the cyanide bath not only offered SUPERIOR HARDENING PROPERTIES, it required relitively little time, and the temperature could easily be held at precise levels to minimize warpage. The process lends itself to treating small parts much more redily than does pack hardening. All these advantages added to the fact that you no longer need to pack and refresh your packing materials and all the mess associated with it, made the cyanide bath an attractive alternative to pack hardening. For practicle reasons, it's probably best not to mix the two processes. Thats not to say that some wizards haven't figured out a way to mix the two, or that there is no way to get mottled colors out of the cyanide bath and quench. I've tried both, but with little colors to show for it...perhaps I gave up experimentation too early..
