Phil Wood Track Cogs *edited

Earlier today I posted this:

I recently acquired a Phil Wood track cog in a trade

I had never actually handled one before until I took it off the wheel. I immediately got to checking it out and discovered that only the front side is polished. On the back you'll find a very mediocre finish.

Like everything Phil makes these cogs are both held in high regard and expensive
($62 on the Phil Wood website).

You'd think for a grip like that you'd get two polished sides. I know that most of the backside is hidden by the hub flanges especially on smaller sizes, but c'mon this is an 18 tooth cog, you can see the back. I expected better.

*Well, Darla from Phil Wood left a response:

Hi Jeff,

We don't polish the reverse side of the cog in order to show that our cog is not plated as a few on the market are. If you'd like to have the inside surface polished, we can definitely do that for you, just get in touch with us.

That's some good customer service right there, and some good info.
I'm still a little puzzled by the strategy, but super stoked that they took the time to answer the question and very pleased that there is a deliberate reason for it.