I recently purchased a new Jail Bird from Mature Metal. It arrived with several small black nicks or spots and some minor surface roughness. They are like small, black, shallow holes in the otherwise shiny stainless steel. I know nothing about working with stainless steel, but my online searches suggests it might be from imperfections in the steel welding process. Are these spots purely cosmetic, or should I be concerned about the long term quality of my new device? There are only a handful of them, and they are pretty small. If it's purely cosmetic, then I'll just live with it. This is my second Jail Bird from Mature Metal. I purchased my first one about 10 years ago. The surface on my first Jail Bird was essentially flawless and still is. I purchased this second Jail Bird now for some size adjustments and to change from pad lock to security screw. Overall, I'm still satisfied with the new device as it is a more comfortable fit for me now than my previous one, but I'm hoping for input on these finer details. The newer device surface is also just not as smooth overall as my prior Jail Bird, but that might be because my prior device has seen years of use and might have had any lingering surface roughness buffed out over that time. These black spots are not the leftover stuff from the polishing process. The device also arrived with quite a bit of that black stuff that I assume is leftover from the steel polishing. I cleaned that stuff off with a soft hand soap. The black nicks I'm concerned about are like little holes in the surface and remain after cleaning. Thank you for any advice you might have.
I have had a near identical experience to you. Previous JailBirds had near perfect finishes, whereas this new one had some nicks and black deposits. Most of the black has washed off. I was worried about the nicks, but after having used a 600 grit sandpaper on the device, by hand, I got a very satisfactory surface which has not caused me any issues since. The sanding was literally 15 minutes, no big deal. The device is very comfortable!
I’ve fought surface imperfections on my Jail bird for the better part of a year. I even returned it for repair one time, after finding voids in the welds. I have sanded and polished it and that seems to have helped. Sanding with Emory cloth, and polishing with Mother’s Mag and Aluminum polish using my Dremel. I keep having sore issues where the first and second ring of the cage are close on the bottom. I did notice that not all of the joints are welded front and back, leaving some potential sharp spots. I’m about ready to throw in the towel and try a different cage, but with the cost of the Jail Bird I’ll keep trying.
Hi, I am so sorry to hear about any issues. If there is ever anything that you are unhappy with please do not hesitate to contact us. We will take care of any issues. Matruemetalsales@gmail.com
I had a nice productive talk with William this morning. My JB is now on its way for to Texas for modifications to better fit me.
I spoke with William again this morning. We discussed my issues, and his idea on how to deal with it. While the cage itself is not a problem, my oversized right testicle is causing fitment issues. He has a solution to fix the issue, which we both hope works. Hopefully by this time next week I can give a report. You just cannot ask for better service!
I might reach out to MM, but I'm not a fan of the extended shipping process for something like this. My primary concern remains whether these imperfections are purely cosmetic, or if they are something that might long-term compromise the device? For example, will they start to rust or require different cleaning methods assuming I wear the device daily for years? Information I've found online is mostly from steel welding discussions. In those discussions, they treat imperfections like these as signs of a poor weld, but they are probably concerned about the strength of a weld for construction or machine parts. It might be fine for a chastity device.
I have found the people at Mature Metal to be very open to any sort of discussion about their cages. Even if you don't want to ship the cage back, sending them an email message with your questions/concerns does not take much. I see that they have provided their contact information above.
Please contact us if you have any concerns. The Jail Bird is made from 100% 316 surgical stainless steel including the welds. There is no chance of it rusting or breaking under normal use. When we grind down a weld it will go through a process of rough grinds through to polishing. It could be where the rough grinds went a little deep then we polished it without noticing the imperfections. All it would take is a little more polishing to get any of the small imperfections out. We do care deeply about our devices and our customers. That is why William and I stand behind our devices with a lifetime guarantee.