has anyone heard of a type of metal called kahrite?

Question

I found a piece of scrap metal and it said "kahrite 8" on it. Does anyone know anything about this type of metal? I plan on scrapping it and I want to know the types of metals (i.e. nickel) it might contain. It would probably be used around high heat since it was found in a steel mill. I would appreciate any type of feedback. Thanks!

It is non-magnetic, very heavy, and does not cut easily. Broken edges are very shiny.

Answer 1

Some of the scrap yards have a device that will identify the alloy. Also some people who are quite familiar with metal alloys can use an electric grinder and get a pretty good idea of the type of alloy by the way the sparks come off the grinding wheel.

There are so many alloys, I can only give a few simple tests you can do.

First, see if your piece of metal sticks to a magnent, If yes, is it rusty?, if yes, it is most likely iron or steel alloy, any other additives will be in such low percentage that they won't pay you anything extra above the "steel price".

If it is magnetic and not rusty, look at the surface; if it is it greyish or crystalline-looking (with or with out a whitish corrosion) it is probably galvanized steel. If it is mostly shiney it could be nickel or chrome plated steel or 400 series stainless steel. To see if it is plated, try bending a corner back and forth several times in the same place and see if any plating flakes off. 400-series stainless will be harder to bend that regular steel of the same thickness.

If it does not stick to a magnent, it is probably 300-series stainless or chrome/nickel plated brass. Try cutting a notch in it with a file, if it is brass underneath, it will cut very easily (note; if it has thick chrome plating, it will be hard to cut the notch at the begining) once you get the notch cut, see if the metal underneath is yellow. You could also try the bending test and see if the plating cracks or flakes off exposing brass underneath. If the metal it tough to cut with the file (a definite resistance is felt to the file cutting) and the metal is silvery, it is probably 300-series stainless. types 309, 310, and 330 are often used in applications where heat resistance is needed.

Added: If a piece of the metal seems to weigh significantly more than an equal sized piece of steel, maybe you have found some kind of tungsten alloy, cobalt-bonded tungsten carbide or other hard surface alloy. Most of the common ferrous alloys have a density of about 7 -8 g/cm^3

Answer 2

never heard of it, and I work around steel mills, could it have been a mixture of metals? or a chemical that they add to the steel? I dont know of any "K" prefix metals.