eagle eye Old-Lumens 
Doesn't look like copper to me either. l
Well, Iām not familiar with copper or any metals at that level of magnification. However, I just did a quick Google Images search. And, if that aināt copper, then Dale isnāt the only one whoās fooled. It looks similar to microscope images that are available of copper.
Notice the micro-crystalline structure?
Didnāt think so. 
Edit: Somebodyās nuts, how can it not look like copper when it IS copper? Iāve cut it, sanded it, polished it, smelled it, you canāt handle it without getting the copper smell on your hands, itās copper without a doubt, the question isnāt whether it is or isnāt, but what makes the slight difference?
And before anyone goes off on another tangent about that smell on your hands, give me a break , please! Copper coins have been in our pockets for centuries!
Iāve been giving it some thought, Kronological said that he was told the battery tube and tail cap come from a copper tubing, right? And the head and bezel were cut from bar stock, right? So what would be a consistent variable there? Heat! The tubing didnāt need much machining to get to the final form factor. The head had extensive machining, inside and out, to make the part, as did the bezel. What happens to heated copper? It changes molecular structure and softens. Iāve also re-flowed the quad inside the head of the light, had it on the stove top burner to do so. More heat. So the state of air hardening on the components is in a different stage of itās cycle. Iāve read that when you heat copper it softens and air hardens over time. Work hardening speeds that up. So that may well be the difference between these parts, the difference in extent of machining.
Iāve machined the body on my lathe. Itās copper. Definitely NOT brass.
- AL appears to be open. If so I will take it. AL NW. (My 2nd set) If not, place/add anywhere open. leroycp Thanks
Will there be a link added to the best possible 14500 battery for this light? Kinda like was done with the A6.
If you have a really, REALLY strong ā finger-pinch-strong ā magnet ā brass is slightly, very slightly magnetic.
(I have one that will pick up the brass retaining ring from a Convoy pill, but wonāt lift the whole brass pill, though I can feel a faint tug)
I have had the entire light in an oven at near 600Āŗ for 2+ hours after the first time I polished it. I have had the head alone on a re-flow plate at around 750Āŗ at least twice.
As a new machinist learning metals for the lathe, research indicates copper air hardens much like the work hardening process. I guess all the online information I researched could be wrongā¦
I thought those close-ups of the copper were pretty cool, thanks Dale, but am clueless what copper does or should look like at that level, but I do trust Dale from his extensive background in working with metals/machining, so if he says it's copper, it's copper...
Why is there all this over copper? I have a Cu X5 and it is copper, not brass, not plated, etc. etc.
More research makes me think that the smaller crystalline structure in the head is due to a higher degree of work hardening, which would also correspond to the difference in machining the bar vs. a less machined tube. Raw copper, they are saying, has the largest crystalline structure and work hardening reduces this down to a near invisibility. Heating extensively reverses any hardening previously worked into the part, so that makes it confusing, as the head of my light has been heated extensively on more than one occasion.
Sure would be interesting to get some validation on specifically what was used to make this, if only for the knowledge of it.
The problem with the kind of knowledge I get on things like metals and woods is that itās hands on experience without documentation as to the actual mechanical why of the matter. Iāve cut brass on the lathe, bronze, copper, stainless, titanium (Gr.23), polycarbonate, delrin and teflon, with every one having itās own peculiarities and inconsistencies of cut. Brass is weird to me, actually making a definitive sound to go along with the cut, although cutting it is easy. Copper will heat up and defy being cut at all, making the tool want to push up or down off axis and cause issue if one isnāt careful. I havenāt found anything else that acts like this. I have machined both the head and the tail cap, as well as cleaned up the end of the battery tube and all parts concerned cut and acted like my normal oxygen free pure copper bar stock.
Makes me curious, to say the least.
Edit: Age hardening is documented. Thatās done in air so Iām calling it air hardened, might be wrong to do so but as far as I know itās tantamount to the same thing.
I have an idea, why donāt we start a kick starter so we can get the sample that Dale has in his possession sent to a lab for testing. Once we get the results,positive for copper. there should b no more issues/questions about it and then have the blf box be tested too! Gotta make sure itās all 100% real copper & non endangered wood. Please no riots, letās keep it civilized.
Take a close look at Dale's well used X5 and all the nicks and dents in the fins and edges. Brass is not that soft. If there is a color difference it is because the battery tube and head are sourced from two different places. The tube being a slightly more red copper is why they look different. I have many vape mods in both copper and brass and the X5 is all copper. Not plated and not brass. Let's stop all this nonsense, please.
+100
Thanks guys I'm glad you enjoyed my little metal bending post.
DB custom, I'm with you on not wanting a clip on the copper light. I feel it deserves a rather nice soft and cushy lined holster of some sort.
Nocturn, I'll also celebrate even if the clips are broken upon arrival, but I don't think the clips need to be redesigned.
The physical design really is good, it's just that it needs to be beefed up and properly built. It just needs tweaking a little here and there in the shop and then it's good.
Just by looking at several A6 clips I've worked with I can tell that there was not much thought given to properly build those properly designed clips.
My bare A6 clip is 0.030" titanium (not stiff enough). It was as if it had been bent over 180 degrees and smashed flat in a press. There might have been a 0.015" radius. I'm pretty sure that the absolute minimum radius for hot bending most sheet titanium is 1x - 1.5x thickness. That's with the part glowing red hot. So I know my clip was weakened at the .015" spot but it isn't carrying all the load now so maybe it'll hold up. Instead of the load being spread over .015" it's now spread over close to .150". The same amount of stress just spread out over an area 10x greater than before.
The issue with the clip not "holding" to the body would be nearly non existent if the material were thicker. Thickness adds not only strength but stiffness. If those wings were bent just right to hug the battery tube good and tight, a thicker, stiffer piece would stay in place much better. The arm of the clip would bend and slip off whatever it was clipped to before those wings let go of the battery tube. 0.045" titanium would be perfect for that design clip as long as it was bent and tensioned just right.
0.045" Ti-6Al-4V (or whatever the Chinese equivalent may be), 5/64" bend radius... Just needs a little tweakin
P.S.
I know I was saying 5/32" bend radius in my previous post but I was thinking about that 5/32 pin punch I used to rebend my A6 clip. The radius in a bend is half of the diameter of that pin punch so technically the actual bend radius is 5/64"... My bad
Problem isnāt dales light. Itās the finned portions on the production cu units. Sorry but I guess iād like to know as well. Nothing should be varied from the samples at this point I would think. But correct me if Iām just noobin out.
Thanks!
Dale donāt you have a brass light to compare and take pictures?
I also think itās copper but I wouldnāt put it past Manker to try and deceive us, remember the crooked battery tubes and the blue tailcaps on black lights of the A6 groupbuy. Iāll bet Manker searched and found the crummiest cheapest dirtiest piece of copper in China to make our flashlights out of.
Trust us!
