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Re: Question re "Government" steel

PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 6:57 pm
by VancouverSpecial
escher7 wrote:In terms of strength and resilience, for my money there is no pick even close to the Southord Max. They use 301 with a high yield temper giving a tensile strength of 270,000 psi (Peterson claims 280,000 psi), but more importantly they cut the steel using EDM (electric discharge machining), a process that does not disturb the structure or hardness as other processes do. They are expensive ($11.95), but have a lifetime guarantee. I have posted this picture before, but it speaks for itself:



Aren't the Peterson and Southord Max different thicknesses as well?

Please correct me if I am wrong:
Peterson Classic picks = .025"
Southord Max - gray handles = .031"

So, I assume if Peterson made a .031" thick version it would have a better chance at meeting/exceeding the dead weight holding capacity of the gray handled Southord Max in your photo. If they started making them I would love to try a few of these monster sized .032" thick Peterson's.

Cheers,
Sean


edit - corrected thickness of Southord Max

Re: Question re "Government" steel

PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 8:25 pm
by Josephus
VancouverSpecial71 wrote:
Aren't the Peterson and Southord Max different thicknesses as well?

Please correct me if I am wrong:
Peterson Classic picks = .025"
Southord Max = .032"



Measured just for fun.
Peterson: .0245 polished twice
Southord Max: .022 polished once

I have really enjoyed the one max I have, but when it gives out, it bends badly in a hurry. As in, "This ASSA is being a little fucker. Just a little more-- oh shit." Petersons have bent a couple times for me too, but tend to do it more gracefully.

MBI wrote:When I saw the scan of the invoice, and given who the customer was and the thickness of the steel, it was clearly intended for making picks. I recognized the steel alloy that was listed but it struck me that it wasn't just a "stock" order...


I didn't really clarify, but I was asking a probing question of ethical concern. That is pestering people to give up information that falls under trade secrets may be asking them to break the law. So because of what you said, I'm not comfortable with the idea of asking for more information about their production. Of course if someone has the ability to check hardness and such independently, that could be fun. Thanks for the information.

Re: Question re "Government" steel

PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 8:39 pm
by VancouverSpecial
Josephus wrote:
Measured just for fun.
Peterson: .0245 polished twice
Southord Max: .022 polished once




Hi Josephus,

Just to clarify there are two different thicknesses of Southord Max Yield picks, which I should have put in my original post (I was responding the pictured gray handled thicker Southord Max Yield version shown in the photo):

According to their website the thicknesses are as follows:
Southord Max Yield - [black handles] - .023"
Southord Max Yield - [gray handles] - .031"

When ordering, the thinner black handled models have a "B" in the model number - (e.g., black handled short hook = MAX-07B vs gray handled short hook = MAX-07)

Note: I am assuming that they only make the thicker ones gray and thinner ones black as that's what I have recieved in my various orders, but it may not hold true. Also, the Southord website does not really show the difference in handle colour between the two versions of the Max Yield picks very well, which I found quite confusing when placing my first order.

Cheers,
Sean

edit - for clarity regarding the various Southord picks

Re: Question re "Government" steel

PostPosted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 10:33 am
by pickmonger2
There has been a lot of speculation of just what Peterson Government Steel is. One possible clue is found when Harry Sher mentions Peterson Government Steel in one of the videos in the LSS + series that Marc Tobias released.

Harry Sher comments that Peterson Government Steel is made of high quality of Moly Stainless Steel giving single pin picking excellent feedback of what you are doing. He compared to a graphite fishing rod that improves the feel when you are fishing.