I tried to purchase case savers from Ollies and was told they don't sell them outright. I went by the local VW shop and compared a case saver they had in stock to one from PP. The one from the VW shop is on the right and it also has grooves on the crests but they are not as wide or as deep. Overall quality looks better also.
Doing some investigating revealed the grooves on the thread crests are a result of the roll-forming process. While rolled threads are reported to be stronger than cut threads, the quality is more difficult to control. Thread profile is determined by many variables, one of which is the elasticity of the material being formed. Another is the diameter of the stock prior to forming.
An additional benefit to roll-forming is less material waste which means less chips. This is kind of funny considering the amount of loose metal that was in the bags of case savers I received. I can't tell if the inside threads were also roll-formed or cut. If they were cut then that might explain the chips.
I'm not sure how I will proceed at this point. I should probably return the PP case savers and pursue finding better quality pieces.
The following website has some good info on the subject if you're interested-
https://www.ctemag.com/news/articles/chuck-chips
