That Ed Brown article ignores Type III hard anodizing, which is 60-70 HRC. That's as hard as, or harder than, high end knife blades are heat treated to; and nearly as hard as nitrocarburized steel. Type III hard anodizing is also more abrasion resistant than cyanide case hardened steel (that's the family of processes under which Tennifer, Melonite, Tufftride, and most similar nitrocarburizing processes fall). Ref -
http://www.fortwayneanodizing.com/hardcoat/properties.htm
Also, Steel frames weigh more than alloy, So it will help with recoil a little aswell.
That is true.
And as far as polymer, I don't hate it as you seem to think I do, I have said that I have a Springfield XD9 which I am sure you know has a polymer frame, And I love that gun. I have no problems with polymer frames at all,
I never assumed you hated polymer frames. I was just trying to address the durability question.
But as I said I like the steel better, Especially in smaller guns to help with felt recoil.
That clarifies things tremendously. In your first post you said you were concerned with durability and didn't mention wanting a heavier gun to mitigate recoil. We can't get around the physics of a heavier frame material.
These are just my opinions, Yours are obviously different than mine, So I ask you to please respect my wishes and to not start an argument over steel vs aluminum vs polymer. This type of gun is just what I am looking for. I don't have anything against alloy or polymer guns at all, It is just not what I am looking for at this time.
There was no disrespect intended. I was simply trying to address the durability question, which may have given you a wider variety of options. However, you want a heavier gun, so that puts the argument more in favor of a steel frame.
If you can tell me any useful info on forged frame aluminum guns than I will gladly listen, I am not an expert on metallurgy by any means and I welcome all the info I can take in, After all, That is how we all learn.
Thank you for keeping an open mind.
Many years ago, late '90s / early 2000s, Kimber had published in their literature and on their website that they fired 20,000 rounds through one of their aluminum frame pistols, and there was no measurable wear comparing the before and after measurements. Of course, Kimber also uses 7075-T6 aluminum and they hard anodize it. Unfortunately I no longer have a verifiable source to the results. But, there is the above linked info about the properties of hard anodized aluminum.
And I want something that will hold up better if I happen to drop them aswell, I have seen alloy guns with significant gouges taken out of them from being dropped from 5' where as steel guns dropped the same distance will just have a couple of nicks taken out.
That area is where steel does have an advantage. Even with Type III hard anodizing aluminum is not as impact resistant as most steels. I'll try to find you some links with specific metrics.