Beta Titanium ???

[Maximumbob54]

Tried looking up Beta ti and not finding much. I assume it makes a lousy edge and he now have nearly rust free knives so why bother to continue. But I dug this old example out hoping for some discussion:

I've read that while most Beta ti was run pretty soft, Ocean Master had theirs up to maybe 58-60 hrc. But I also can't find where anyone ever tested this. I'm no diver, I was just intrigued by the concept since growing up as an 80's kid all things titanium back then had a certain allure to them.

 

[knarfeng]

Beta Ti at 58-60 HRC? Doesn't pass my filters. And we fussed with that stuff at outfit I used to work for, so I'm not completely unfamiliar with it. And the Wiki article says maximum hardness of Beta Ti is 42 HRC, which is about what my internal memory bank says.

ADD:
Titanium is non-magnetic, so there is reason to use it in some knife-type applications.

Also, stainless steel loses it's protective oxide layer in some environments. In those environments, all steels rust. Titanium does not. (not really applicable for a knife, but it is a thing.)

 

[Alberta Ed]

Very handy for scuba divers.

 

[Matthew Gregory]

When you combine it with carbon fiber and the mad science skills of Mecha you can get some sexy looking stuff out of it…

That was a fun collaboration. Sammy, hope you and Julie are doing okay!

 

[shinyedges]

Beta Ti at 58-60 HRC? Doesn't pass my filters. And we fussed with that stuff at outfit I used to work for, so I'm not completely unfamiliar with it. And the Wiki article says maximum hardness of Beta Ti is 42 HRC, which is about what my internal memory bank says.

ADD:
Titanium is non-magnetic, so there is reason to use it in some knife-type applications.

Also, stainless steel loses it's protective oxide layer in some environments. In those environments, all steels rust. Titanium does not. (not really applicable for a knife, but it is a thing.)

Agreed. I may stand corrected, but to my knowledge that level of hardness is unachievable with titanium.

 

[guy g]

I used to haul titanium from a mill in Henderson nv. I asked them years ago what it was. They never heard of it.
I had a mission utility knife and it was hardened to about 42-45 . Any higher it couldn't be sharpened.

 

[JAB]

I used to haul titanium from a mill in Henderson nv. I asked them years ago what it was. They never heard of it.
I had a mission utility knife and it was hardened to about 42-45 . Any higher it couldn't be sharpened.

I may be misremembering but didn’t Mission include or offer a “special” sharpener for their knives?

 

[guy g]

I may be misremembering but didn’t Mission include or offer a “special” sharpener for their knives?

I honestly don't remember. I re profiled mine with the diamond Sharpmaker rods, and sharpened with the diamond rods and the medium rods.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Tried to search:

ocean master beta titanium dive knife "hrc"

And it looks like they have hardness listings all over the place. As in from the mid 40's to upper 50's. No clue if they had a secret sauce alloy any different/better than the rest.