You are looking at a very rare set of Miura FE99.3 irons and while they may look like the standard CB-1008 these are made entirely of a different material and mold. The shape is also subtly different with a slightly longer heel to toe length.
What is FE99.3%? Originally used more than a decade ago by Bridgestone’s very rare and limited Maru Spec wedges FE99.3 is being utilized once again. The main difference is that it feels softer at impact. Carbon in typical carbon steel material is considered an “impurity”. 99.3% Pure Steel contains a lot less carbon and is supposedly a lot softer.
Miura claims two difficulties when dealing with FE99.3 the first is that they have additional steps required to achieve this level of purity which adds time and cost. The second is that grinding the 99.3 heads are more difficult due to the material being a bit more “sticky” on the grinding wheel. Takes a highly experienced grinder/craftsman to do them right.
While that all sounds nice we did speak with our sources who say the extra added cost is minimal and there is little to no difference in grinding these so it may simply be marketing hype from the maker.
Another thing that one of our TSG forum members brought up was that “All steel is composed of iron and carbon. It is the amount of carbon, and the additional alloys that determine the properties of each grade.”
take away all that carbon ‘impurity’ (?!!!) from steel and you’d end up with the raw material, iron – which should definitely not feel softer. So a little bit split on FE99.3 so let’s discuss what we experienced in the real world.
I was able to hit both the standard CB-1008 vs this FE99.3 model and while it was by no means a scientific test I immediately noticed the FE was softer, was it my imagination? Not really because at times I did not know which was which with both irons being nearly identical and the result of my impression was always the same. FE99.3 to me felt softer.
Other differences between the standard vs FE model CB-1008. The lofts are stronger by 1-2*, the toe is rounder with just a hair more offset added. One of the best changes was the custom MCW option of double cut sole grind is standard in the FE99 model.
TourSpecGolf only has 2 sets left at the time this blog post is published. Please email us [email protected] if you would like one.
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