The present invention relates to aqueous, alkaline plating bath compositions for electroless deposition of ternary and quaternary cobalt alloys Co-M-P, Co-M-B and Co-M-B\u2014P, wherein M is selected from the group consisting of Mn, Zr, Re, Mo, Ta and W which comprise a propargyl derivative as the stabilizing agent. The drill bit is constructed from a combination of relatively soft and relatively hard materials. The enrollment is done with levels of security and verification that ensures the devices and clearinghouse server is legitimate.