Posted by David W on November 22, 2007, 7:15 am, in reply to "Metal finish?"
Weston, from what I've read the lock plates were made from 1020 steel and then they were heat treated for hardness and that is how the color arrived. Most likely Parker used some other type of case hardening process and maybe it wasn't as hard as the "elsies", or the chemicals they used didn't give it the same look.