Beryllium and Carbon Steel Questions

[MyBluC4]

Still thinking about and looking for new irons. Hoped the new Adams CB1's would be the ones but demo day did not convince me. The new Callaway Diablos were hot, but I'm still not feeling the love. Still using my Ping ISI Be Cu's and still working them well. Now I'm considering (if I can get a debt owed me paid) the new Ping Forged Ansers.
These irons (only avaiable in Japan so far) are forged with 8620 carbon steel. I'm not sure what this means other than it has properties that allow it to be forged at specific temperatures. My ISI Be Cu's provide good feedback on mis-hit and off center shots. They have always been touted as having a "soft" feel (whatever that really means) even though beryllium is one of the hardest metals. I believe it is the design that provides the feedback having a very thin top line and narrow sole. If you didn't know they were cavity backs, at address you would think they were blades.
Besides design (yes, the new Ping Ansers with hollow perimeters and tungsten is worlds apart from my old besty's), how dramatically different is Beryllium Copper from 8620 carbon steel relative to the ball coming off the face? Also, would it even be possible to create a forged head with beryllium copper?
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[limpalong]

I'll give some of this a try. WBL may need to chime in as he's the resident metalurgy engineer/scientist/ghuru, having spent somewhere near 100 years working with various metals.

Beryllium has been found to be a hazardous chemical. The dust from Be is a carcinagin and you won't find it being used in any club production today.
You will find 8620 carbon steel in many forgings. The "20" on the end, I believe, has to do with the carbon content of the alloy. There is a significant difference in feel between BeCu and 8620 forgings. (I have BeCu's in the bag and have played BeCu's for many years. Have had Zing BeCu's... ISI BeCu's... Eye 2 BeCu's... and, now, these Eye 2+ BeCu's.) The ISI's you play have those dampening "lines" running radially in the cavity. Still, the cast BeCu has a "harder" feel than the softer forgings.

Many forgings are muscle back blades. Most cast clubs are cavity back, perimeter weighted. That's where the thought process comes from that forgings are more difficult to play than cast clubs. It's the design of the club head... not the material of construction. The forged Ansers are not full blades. Yet, they are not as perimeter weighted as your ISI's. You will have a softer feel of the ball coming off the blade. But, you might find them not quite as forgiving. If you are a decent iron player, you probably won't notice the difference in forgiveness. I believe you will enhance your ability to feel the ball off the face and be able to discern just where you made contact on the clubface.

The ISI's have a relatively thin face. That can give them a "clicky" feel. You might try a casting that has a thicker face and find a good solid feel. WBL plays the S59 Pings. I have a son-in-law who plays those. Both love the feel of the ball off the clubface and think they are relatively forgiving. They are cast, but have considerably more mass behind the ball than do your ISI's.

The other son-in-law has a complete set of BeCu ISI's... 1 iron through LW. All were special ordered through WRX for a pro. They have the DGS400 shafts, are 1/4" long, and are weighted a little heavier than the normal Ping offering. He still has them, though he plays a set of Mizuno MP32's most of the time. Says he just likes the feel of the forgings vs the BeCu irons.

I don't know how much you play. The BeCu's are virtually indestructable. I've played hundreds of rounds with mine and have never come close to wearing our the grooves. Forged irons, being a softer metal, will wear quicker.

After all that, I would certainly recommend your purchasing a set of the Ping Anser irons. Get them blue dot, +1/4". Then, if you don't like the feel, I'll take 'em off your hands for a couple hundred bucks so you don't loose your entire shirt!!!!!

 

[MyBluC4]

Very articulate response and helpful. Thanks.