I agree and would also love to see raw finish come back.

From what I've read, the black won't come off.  But it's a raw finish so it will rust without needing to strip anything off.

Thanks for the bad news.  I can't believe they got rid of the oil can finish.  It seemed that most people playing the oil can finish wanted it to wear off and rust.  The black ox coating was awesome as well.  It came off easier than the sm4 oil can.

I wonder what the ratio is on tour with raw wedges vs other finishes.  Probably 95% raw?  Not that it matters, I just thought Titleist is always testing and getting feedback from their Tour players on new products.  

Other than the no oil can finish, everything in the Titleist line up is awesome as usual.  I think the club designers should get a raise!  Please please please keep going in the direction you are going in.  Don't go all gimmicky clown circus style on us!!

Any talk of a new addition to the wedgeworks line up this spring?

Thanks!

I'm definitely a big fan of the raw and a little disappointed that it isn't offered as one of the SM5 standard finishes. I look forward to raw options in the future and any new lines in the wedgeworks offerings. 

I guess I was completely wrong.  I thought I read a while back that the raw black would rust, but obviously that's not the case.  Interesting decision to not have any raw wedges.  I'm guessing market and tour research showed they weren't as popular as we all must have thought.

Info for SM5 on the Titleist website appear last week (jan. 22), and it should rust...

 Spin Milled 5 wedges are available in three new finish options:

Tour Chrome, Gold Nickel and Raw Black.

 The new, brighter Tour Chrome has a dark blast face for better contrast and framing, a soft nickel layer base for feel and rust prevention, and a thin top chrome layer for durability.

 Gold Nickel utilizes a double nickel layer process to help create better feel, rust prevention and durability.

Raw Black, previously a tour-only finish, utilizes a QPQ process to create a thin protection layer for feel and durability. Raw Black will rust during the course of play

....just waiting to see the new version of the custom options on shaft...still septembre 2013, hope to have the new version on FEB

The Hand Ground Line of wedges is raw and unfinished as an alternative...yes, it does cost more but gives you a very custom finish and design. 

JAT!

Maybe we should start a petition to bring back the oil can?

Triggity has the first signature!

Greetings to all Team Titleist and Vokey Nation members,

We certainly appreciate all of your input on various finish offerings in the Vokey lineup.  The main reason we are offering Raw Black in SM5 is the popularity of the two black finishes in WedgeWorks (Black Ox and Graphite Ion).  Oil Can has been declining in popularity for several years, so we felt it was time for a change in SM5.  

It is true that many Tour players use raw wedges.  There are also quite a few that use our Tour Chrome finish.  The main reason that the players use raw wedges is that Bob Vokey and Tour Rep Aaron Dill will make small tweaks to many players'  wedges and it's much easier to do so with a raw wedge than grinding through the chrome.  In addition, Tour players change wedges more frequently than most amateur golfers.  

The SM5 Raw Black finish is an unplated QPQ finish and will rust over time especially in the hitting area and on the grind.  For those looking for a completely raw finish, check our our Hand Ground program through WedgeWorks at Vokey.com

Regarding WedgeWorks, we have some very cool new offerings coming later this Spring.  Stay tuned to Team Titleist and Vokey.com for more details! 

Regards from the entire Vokey Team,

Dave N.

Manager - Vokey Wedge Marketing

I purchased my black SM5 last week and was told at the store that you can remove the black finish by soaking it in Coke/Pepsi (or any carbonated drink, I'd assume) overnight.  They said that their Titleist rep. told them that. I haven't tried it as I rather like the black finish, but that's what I was told.

Haha why fired?

I stripped my SM5 46. Took a little more effort removing the QPQ.

did you use navy jell, vinegar, or just plain coke? Nice pics!

just going to put my 2 cents in, I would remove the head so not to cause any possible damage to the shaft and I am not aware how the epoxy would hold up in those conditions. This is also coming from someone that has access to all the right tools.  I am sure you could do it with the shaft attached, you would just have to be more careful when scrubbing not to damage the ferrule.  

Some other cool effects you can do with a raw wedge is to torch it which will giving it some colour, you will want to make sure that the head is cleaned and free of any oils and the paint fill removed.  

I just bought 2 SM5s Raw Black.  Soaked them in white wine vinegar for 30 mins and rubbed them down with #00 steel wool.  They still have some finish on them but I was able to take off maybe 25%.  They are grey in color and no longer have that spray paint look.  So far I'm happy but may take it a step further.  PS, I never removed the heads and kept it at 30 mins not to looses the epoxy.

Looks like Raw option is coming soon.

Where did you see this?

Head over to http://www.vokey.com/.

Under the wedgeworks tab there is a "Raw SM5" coming soon.

check out vokey.com under the wedgeworks tab

As per GolfWRX you can use naval jelly to strip it, don't think coke or pepsi will work on the black ox