Caspian Stainless Steel Slide - how to know?

[glenjoy]

How to know if I have a Caspian Stainless Slide? I have a number stamp at the bottom, 696 or 969.

Here is the pic of the batch number.

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/7640/img0184mr9.jpg

[The Lone Haranguer]

That number is almost certainly an assembly number, and/or it may correspond to the last three characters of the serial number to verify slide/frame matching.

On the Caspian slides I've seen (pictures), there is a large crested "C" logo on them.

[glenjoy]

This is a caspian slide, I am asking if it is stainless or carbon steel. or how to determine.

[Caimlas]

Two ways to tell, really:

* 300 series stainless steels are not magnetic. These are, IIRC, also pretty cheap steel grades, so I don't think your slide would be made of this.
* 400 series steels are magnetic, so you won't be able to tell that way. However, stainless is, well... it's stainless steel.

If it's magnetic, try cleaning most of the grease/oil off a hidden area (like, near that number) and put a small drop of water there. Leave it for a couple hours/over night. If it doesn't rust, it's stainless. If it rusts, it's carbon. :P

Also, you can try a mild acid test - a drop of lemon juice or such. It'll etch/pickle carbon, but not stainless, steel, IIRC. (again, in an inconspicuous spot)

Also, in my experience, carbon steels have less of a shiny, more of a grey appearance to them when they're "in the rough". Though this is, admittedly, a very small sample.

Finally (and probably the easiest, if you've got a scale and can get any info from Caspian), stainless steel has a higher density than carbon steel. This means a stainless slide is going to be heavier than a carbon slide by, at least, a little bit. A cursory look didn't give me any information on Caspian's site; best give them a call.

[glenjoy]

Put some vinegar droplets inside the slide, it created some marks.