HA Type III Just not Enough?

[Bullzeyebill]

I think its more of a problem if aluminium being relatively soft compared to the Anodizing itself. The ding is more of the alu being crushed underneath the layer of anodizing, which in turn shows up because there is nothing there anymore for the HA to be on top of.

but i'd rather a light that dents then one that shatters

Crenshaw

Bare aluminum would be good in this case, and something in the 7000 series of aluminum would be preferable. I have never seen any of my SF HA lights shatter when dropped, or dented. Often times you could not tell that a drop had occurred. Different story with my SF Type II anodized lights.

Bill

 

[Mjolnir]

In fact, I believe I have slightly dented lights without any coating coming off, which would indicate that it isn't really the softness of the aluminum that causes anodization to come off.

 

[xenonk]

My old EDC looked like it had been through a blender.

As everyone has been saying, keep in mind that anodization is scratch resistant and certainly not indestructible. Rubbing up against even softer materials will wear it away over time, and impacts or scrapes against stone will do so very quickly. Stainless steel can take abuse and be polished back up if you don't mind the weight, though.

Also, HA-III covers any anodize layer thicker than 25 micrometers, so you could have one coating just over 25um thick and another 100um thick. Both would be called HA-III but one would be significantly tougher.

 

[Toohotruk]

What thickness would it have to be to be considered "Mil-Spec"?

 

[xenonk]

What thickness would it have to be to be considered "Mil-Spec"?

One micrometer.

Type I is about 1um at its thinnest and is also a military specification, so you could get away with calling it that.

That's marketing for ya.

 

[sORe-EyEz]

there must be lights made of hardened steel right? like those shackles for gates!! :naughty:

 

[StarHalo]

there must be lights made of hardened steel right? like those shackles for gates!! :naughty:

Mohs hardness:

Soda can - 2.5
Grade V Ti - 4
HA - 4.5
Case-hardened steel - 8
Tungsten Carbide - 9
TiCN - 9.5

 

[R@ndom]

there must be lights made of hardened steel right? like those shackles for gates!! :naughty:

Hardened steel have problems such a corrosion. There are some lights made out of SS like the LD01. I guess they are less widely used due to difficult machining.

 

[Crenshaw]

alternatively, what they could do is engineer each light so that it doesnt weigh enough to cause itself significant damage from moderate falls.

Crenshaw

 

[Marduke]

alternatively, what they could do is engineer each light so that it doesnt weigh enough to cause itself significant damage from moderate falls.

Crenshaw

That gives you less energy to dissipate in impacts, but that also gives you less material to dissipate the impact energy into.

You don't really gain anything, other than a lighter, more fragile light in the end.

A better solution IMO is SS bezels or mild crenelations on the head and tail to absorb impacts.

 

[sORe-EyEz]

Mohs hardness:

Soda can - 2.5
Grade V Ti - 4
HA - 4.5
Case-hardened steel - 8
Tungsten Carbide - 9
TiCN - 9.5

a grade 8 for case-hardened steel looks good to me. better than my pesonal set of ivory... oo:

 

[divine]

Mohs hardness:

Soda can - 2.5
Grade V Ti - 4
HA - 4.5
Case-hardened steel - 8
Tungsten Carbide - 9
TiCN - 9.5

Everything I've read says Tungsten Carbide is a 7.5 and Sapphire is a 9.

I wouldn't use tungsten carbide on a flashlight, though. I had a girl remove a couple links from my Tungsten Carbide watch band and she broke a link!

I would rather have something that bends than something that shatters sounds pretty accurate. The harder things get, the more likely it is to shatter.