Comments by "" (@neutronalchemist3241) on "The Rhodesia Mamba: Big Hype and a Big Flop" video.

1) It depends on who the guys at the bar are. IE, the Ferrari Dino project started as a bar conversation between Enzo Ferrari, Dino Ferrari and Vittorio Jano on what would have been the best angle between the banks of a V6 engine.
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Among the desiderabile features of a firearm "no stamped parts" is probably at the bottom of the list. IE, in the same timeframe, the Benelli B76, that was a high quality firearm, with a competition-level trigger out of the box, had completely stamped frame and slide.
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Among the desiderabile features of a firearm "no stamped parts" is probably at the bottom of the list. IE, in the same timeframe, the Benelli B76, that was a high quality firearm, with a competition-level trigger out of the box, and one of the first 9mm officially advertised to be capable to fire +P ammunition, had completely stamped frame and slide. As a thumb rule forged>stamped>cast (not that cast=bad. IE the CZ75 had cast frame).
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Stainless steel in general is terrible for contact or sliding parts, and stainless on stainless friction is the worst. Some stainless alloy can be heat treated, but any alloy requires its specific treatment.
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And are probably rifled. I don't know if they do the things backward at S&W, but usually, in handgun manufacturing, first a long bar is drilled and rifled, and then several single barrels are milled out of it.
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Any SS semiauto released in the '70s had galling problems. It's difficult to think a bunch of guys that used cast alloys could solve a problem much bigger gun manufacturers were unable to. They simply were fascinated by making a stainless steel gun and overlooked the problem. The carburizing treatment was only a late attempt to fix a project that chose the wrong material from the start.
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Among the desiderabile features of a firearm "no stamped parts" is probably at the bottom of the list. IE, in the same timeframe, the Benelli B76, that was a high quality firearm, with a competition-level trigger out of the box, and one of the first 9mm pistols officially allowed to fire +P ammunitions, had completely stamped frame and slide.
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Because, for a limited production in not specialised workshops, casting is easier and cheaper than stamping. Stamping becomes convenient only with higher production levels.
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The problem was the choice of making it SS, not the carburizing method, that was only an attempt to make the design work. Low temperature carburization of stainless steel, up until the '90s, was an empirical process. You didn't know in advance what alloys were carburizable and what was the appropriate process for any of them. It could only be learned trough trials and errors. It's not by chance that the first stainless steel pistol was released only in 1965, and it was a revolver (S&W 60) so it didn't need many hardened parts. When stainless semiautos began to be introduced, in the mid '70s, all of them had galling problems. In 1983, Randall introduced a line of stainless-steel pistols. The guns were advertised with the slogan “Randall, The Only Stainless Steel Fit For Duty.” because all the previous ones weren't. The trick was to use different alloys for frame and slide and use different hardening treatments, that reduces the galling problem,however it not completely eliminates it. Today is less felt largely thanks to better lubricants.
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With the benefit of hindsight, since the galling problem prevented any sales, we can say "no". But probably that bunch of guy in the bar only knew there was stainless steel and were fascinated by doing a pistol out of it. They didn't know anything about the related problems.
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I've always found that non-captive guide rods make the replacement of the recoil spring easier without downsides. Many high quality firearms, especially race guns that are more likely destined to be customised, have non-captive recoil springs.
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In 1977 the original Beretta 92 had been already upgraded to 92S (slide mounted safety-decocker) and that made it a superior service gun to the CZ75 to me. Many Police departments had to learn the hard way that a service DA/SA pistol without a decocker is plainly dangerous for the shooter and who is around him.
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