Colouring Titanium

I have mentioned in the past that I used to run a chain mail gallery just outside Chicago, lo those many years ago.

One night, while sitting there, bored out of my skull, two kids came in.

Now, when I say that I was sitting there bored, please don't get the mistaken impression that I wasn't working. I was. When it was slow, I was making chain, as I am wont to do.

Well, this particular evening, I was working in titanium, a metal that I had not worked with much before this. Remember, this was back around 1990, so all these exotic metals were fairly hard to come by.

Anyways, I was working in titanium, and decided that I would have fun with it. I knew about its various properties from chemistry classes I had taken, and decided to see what I could do about colouring it with a flame.

I would hold a link over a candle, and then quench it in a glass of water I had sitting there. Fun times for all.

So there I am, candle, cup and links, when in come these two kids. And to be fair, they were probably 15 or so, but they just seemed like kids to me.

Anyways they come in and look around. They see my set up, and then notice that some of my links are purple. "Whoa. That's just so cool", their expressions seem to say.

After the basic greetings, I go back to my work, holding a link over the candle.

"Hey man," one of them asks, "how you doin' that? How you makin' that ring purple?"

"I'm using a purple candle", I say, pointing to the purple candle, as if it's completely self-evident.

"Really?"

"Sure", I say, rising to the challenge. "Here, let me show you." And I reached under the counter where I had a second candle, but this one yellow.

I lit the yellow candle, and held a new ring over it. After a few moments, I quenched it, and sure enough, it was yellow.

They were completely freaked out over this, and left in amazement, totally impressed.

And that, dear Reader, is how you colour titanium and play with minds all at the same time.

You're welcome.