7075 aluminum VS grade 5 titanium

Heartland_edc

Heartland_edc

Joined
May 4, 2015
Messages
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Think of an XM 18. The thumbstuds/lugs brace on the frame when the blade is locked out. How reliable would a frame stop made of 7075 aluminum be vs the standard grade 5 titanium? Specifically referencing the design of the 2018 Microtech Socom Elite. The frame acts as the stop on this knife, and im curious how well it'll hold up over a few decades. Any thoughts?
 
Lionsteel has been using aluminium frame knives for a while, and I haven't heard of any cases of the aluminium deforming. Aluminium frame knives have been used for a while, and I haven't heard of many issues aside from them scratching up easily.

I've actually had a few knives where the studs/stops hit G10, and those have even held up fine, and G10 is definitely less resilient than aluminium.
 
it's good stuff - used in many guns and aircraft - an improvement over 6061:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7075_aluminium_alloy

7075 aluminium alloy is an aluminium alloy, with zinc as the primary alloying element. It is strong, with a strength comparable to many steels, and has good fatigue strength and average machinability. It has lower resistance to corrosion than many other aluminium alloys, but has significantly better corrosion resistance than the 2000 alloys. Its relatively high cost limits its use.

7075 aluminium alloy's composition roughly includes 5.6–6.1% zinc, 2.1–2.5% magnesium, 1.2–1.6% copper, and less than a half percent of silicon, iron, manganese, titanium, chromium, and other metals. It is produced in many tempers, some of which are 7075-0, 7075-T6, 7075-T651.
 
Cool. I remember seeing some SUPER late lock up on older Socom models, so I was hoping the new lockbar insert and upgraded 7075 aluminum would be enought to prevent that from happening. Ive always wanted a Socom, and the new ones look incredible. Thanks for putting my mind at ease!
 
There's no issue with locking up against aluminum, so long as you're not abrading against it or denting it. It's softer than steel or titanium but still way harder than it needs to be for this task. Considering the large contact surfaces of the socom elite, and how those will only get substantially larger as the knife wears in, neither of those things are ever going to happen.
 
Heartland_edc said:
Cool. I remember seeing some SUPER late lock up on older Socom models, so I was hoping the new lockbar insert and upgraded 7075 aluminum would be enought to prevent that from happening. Ive always wanted a Socom, and the new ones look incredible. Thanks for putting my mind at ease!
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Those knives were seemingly designed with late lockup. They didn't wear one bit from use. The change to the different locking system and 7075 aluminum won't hurt, though.

Source: I've had 8 different socom models. None of them changed in lockup throughout me owning them.
 
I second that the late lockup on the older socoms was intentional. I own 3 and they haven’t moved on me a bit. Very similar to my sebenzas which makes sense because Tony got a lot of his aspirations from Chris Reeve. I already have three 2018 socoms and they are awesome! They all came perfect and I doubt you’ll have any issues with them. Lockup is a little earlier though around 30%
 
AlphaDog86 said:
I second that the late lockup on the older socoms was intentional. I own 3 and they haven’t moved on me a bit. Very similar to my sebenzas which makes sense because Tony got a lot of his aspirations from Chris Reeve. I already have three 2018 socoms and they are awesome! They all came perfect and I doubt you’ll have any issues with them. Lockup is a little earlier though around 30%
Click to expand...

Great to hear!
 
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