er mixed with charcoal
is a still faster material, and horns and hoofs exceed even this
in speed; but these two compounds are restricted by their cost
to use with high-grade articles, usually of tool or high-carbon
steel, that are to be hardened locally--that is, "pack-hardened."
Cyanide of potassium or prussiate of potash are also included in
the list of carbonizing materials; but outside of carburizing by
dipping into melted baths of this material, their use is largely
confined to local hardening of small surfaces, such as holes in
dies and the like.

Dr. Federico Giolitti has proven that when carbonizing with charcoal,
or charcoal plus barium carbonate, the active agent which introduces
carbon into the steel is a gas, carbon monoxide (CO), derived by
combustion of the charcoal in the air trapped in the box, or by
decomposition of the carbonate. This gas diffuses in and out of
the hot steel, transporting carbon from the charcoal to the outer
portions of the metal:

If energizers like tar, peat, and vegetable fiber are used, they
produce hydrocarbon gases on being heated--gases principally composed
of hydrogen and carbon. These gases are unstable in the presence of
hot iron: it seems to decompose them and sooty carbon is deposited
on the surface of the metal. This diffuses into the metal a little,
but it acts principally by being a ready source of carbon, highly
active and waiting to be carried into the metal by the carbon
monoxide--which as before, is the principal transfer agent.

Animal refuse when used to speed up the action of clean charcoal
acts somewhat in the same manner, but in addition the gases given
off by the hot substance contain nitrogen compounds. Nitrogen and
cyanides (compounds of carbon and nitrogen) have long been known
to give a very hard thin case very rapidly. It has been discovered
only recently that this is due to the steel absorbing nitrogen
as well as carbon, and that nitrogen hardens steel and makes it
brittle just like carbon does. In fact it is very difficult to
distinguish between these two hardening agents when examining a
carburized steel under the microscope.

One of the advantages of hardening by carburizing is the fact that
you can arrange to leave part of the work soft and thus retain
the toughness and strength of the original material. Figures 33
to 37 show ways of doing this. The inside of the cup in Fig. 34
is locally hardened, as illustrated in Fig. 34, "spent" or used
bo