Doe anyone knows how hard the alloy in recoil guides are compared ceramics ? And how isthe heat build up compared to ceramics if you are lucky to fight the big one?

Terje,
No comparision, ceramics are wat harder.
Nickel Titanium memory wire if I remember my metalurgy class years ago is about the same a stainless steel unless it's ion impregnated with something like boron, but not hugely so, as it's got a long ways to go to meet even the softest ceramics in the guides our sponsors use.
Stainless has a Vicker's hardness scale reading of around 200, chrome 800-1000, aluminum oxide 1200-1400, SiC 2200- 2400, Zirconia 1800-2000, Alconite 1700. The ceramics are also diamond polished to be very slick. Flyline passes through them very quietly, some of my lines sing pretty good with recoil guides, but honestly I don't know the complete reason why.

I thought I read that Alconite is Fuji's trade name for Zirconia? Ralph

I think alconites are a suped up hardaly/aluminum oxide. I do know that I have read it both ways.

I know absolutely zip about metallurgy but from everything that I have ever read or heard, Alconite is a registered trade name by Fuji for their zirconium guides and not an actual metal/compond in itself so why would it have a Vickers hardness rating of it's own?

Mike

As stated in Fuji's own literature, Aconite is Fuji's Trade name for a form of Aluminum oxide ceramic. Since it is a trade name and not a specific ceramic and I have not seen Fuji state the Vickers hardness in it's literature, unless you had it tested yourself, any listed Vickers hardness for Alconite is just a guess by people.

It has been a misconception that Aconite is Zirconia, it is not and Zerconia is harder than any form on AlOx I know of.

Tom McNamara
Mud Hole Custom Tackle.

Most of this info is on Page 212 of Dale Clemen's fine book "Advanced Custom Rodbuilding" it also includes thermal conductivity measurements and corrosion resistance info on the same graphic. Dale also does a good job of comparing frame material/ring combos that existed then to different environments and conditions in the guide chapter.

I thought the Alconites were fairly new! Long after Dale's book was written, or am I wrong??

Your not wrong, they are not listed, got that info from a fellow fisherman/builder who retired from UL Labs. He tested some guides when he first saw those advertisements for the much, much better than new SS304 guides that Berkeley put on their salmon/steelhead rods.