Colt were a major user of old-fashioned case-hardening techniques;
>The traditional method of applying the carbon to the surface of the iron involved packing the iron in a mixture of ground bone and charcoal or a combination of leather, hooves, salt and urine, all inside a well-sealed box. This carburizing package is then heated to a high temperature but still under the melting point of the iron and left at that temperature for a length of time. The longer the package is held at the high temperature, the deeper the carbon will diffuse into the surface.
SassyCoburgGoth
Colt were a major user of old-fashioned case-hardening techniques;
>The traditional method of applying the carbon to the surface of the iron involved packing the iron in a mixture of ground bone and charcoal or a combination of leather, hooves, salt and urine, all inside a well-sealed box. This carburizing package is then heated to a high temperature but still under the melting point of the iron and left at that temperature for a length of time. The longer the package is held at the high temperature, the deeper the carbon will diffuse into the surface.
— Wikepdia