49 replies to this topic

[TourSpecGolfer]

In Ari's tests from MSI the results don't show 1018 they show 1015 or S15C. What's odd is we have never heard the term "American 1018" used by Scratch.

S15C is JIS grade material so in those tests he may be using something of a higher quality than 1018. If that's the case he should run with that because 1018 is a clear downgrade over S15C.

Then again this 1018 thing was just my hunch. Based on both Ari's MSi test and our METL test still nothing came in at 1018 as Scratch advertises. That still doesn't explain the 1010 rating we had in the METL test.

I still can't find 1018 being offered by any foundry in Japan. It is highly unlikely that Scratch has been purchasing 1018 from the USA or China and shipping it to Japan because thats a huge extra expense they have to pay to use inferior metal.

Importing 1018 from the USA or China and using a middle company like Ishihara-Shoten would in theory add a lot to the products wholesale cost. Their margins are too good for that.

I doubt they were sourcing 1018 from the USA and shipping it to Japan when things first started. What would prove me wrong is a past invoice dated from the American foundry showing that 1018 heads were shipped to the factory in Japan.

I can however find S15C in Japan similar to what Miura has used for wedges in the past. It's about the same price as S25C and available from a couple of factories. It just so happens that one of the two factories that supply S15C is the same one that Ari claimed supplies Scratch & Miura back in 2006. Both of those factories do not supply 1018.

S15C is no longer used by wedge companies in Japan because the hardness rating becomes the same as S20C and S25C after heat treatment. S15C is able to be forged using lower heat and a less pressured press. Golf Engineers still do not suggest S15C for golf club use over S20C & S25C.

Ari's MSi tests show 1015 or S15C not 1018. His own evidence goes against his claim of 1018.

I didn't think the public would get held up on the 1018 thing as much as they did. I thought that Ishihara not being a foundry was the big deal.

[Shambles]

You never really know what words people will latch on to. I don't much care about the metal being used but am rather upset about the false advertising and the subsequent equivocations.


Shambles