Tool Color = Grade/Hardness?

[todwin8]

I am going to buy some new yard tools, Shovel, Rake, Post hole digger, etc.
I have heard that the color the metal is painted corresponds to the hardness or grade of the metal used to make them.
Black, Red, Blue, etc.
Is this true and if so does anyone know the proper ranking of hardness.:dontknow:
Thanks

[DaveO]

This is totally a guess, so take that into consideration, but I would guess that with so many foreign manufacturers providing this type of equipment that coordinating among all those manufacturers and trying to implement a standard would be very difficult.

The color scheme you mention may be for a particular brand. I've got rakes and shovels (did you know Ames shovel co. has been around since the Revolutionary War) that have a finish to prevent rust, but nothing you would call paint.

Also, a google search "paint color indicates metal type" brought no relevant hits.

[todwin8]

I heard this from a local hardware store a few years back, (not a big chain store), but I have not heard it anywhere else, so I thought I would check here to see if any one else had. Guess not. Could just be a salesman trying to upsale me.

[joed]

I have never heard this. May the brand that store carries uses that colour coding scheme.