I use jointed wood rods for cleaning shotguns. I've got a good quality one piece aluminum shotgun rod that I received as a prize at a shoot but I don't use it simply because I prefer the traditional wood.
For shotguns I don't think the choice of material matters all that much as I've never seen a shotgun bbl that I thought had been damaged by a cleaning rod although I have seen plenty that were damaged by lack of cleaning.
For rifles I use a one piece steel rod or one of the coated one piece steel rods like Parker Hale or Dewey makes & I always use a rod guide for both rifles that clean by the breech & the few that I have to clean by the muzzle. Unlike shotguns, I have seen rifle bores that were damaged by cleaning rods & or poor cleaning technique.
Damascus is probably correct in his view that if you don't ingest a few contaminants along the way you won't build up a good immune system. Anyone who lived or worked on a farm knows this.
