Burn spot on Titanium handle slab

MikeC

MikeC

Joined
Sep 16, 2005
Messages
1,364
Recently ordered a titanium frame lock direct from company, got it and upon inspection there was a large burn spot on the inside of one of the handle slabs. About the size of a quarter, it looked liked it had been left on a hot stove and there a was a bad blackish, blue, orangeish, looking spot on it.

I sent it back, demanded a refund (got it) and told them that knife should have never left the shop like that.

Was I over reacting and just wrong or did that indicate a problem as I suspected it did?
 
Makes sense to me. It wasn't supposed to look like that, and you brought it to their attention. This way you get the knife you want and they get to find out there's a hole in their QC that needs patching--you both win. :)
 
There was a burn spot on the INSIDE of the slab? I assume it was visible from the outside somehow.

I see no fault at all in feeling entitled to a refund for anything you feel is below your expectations. However, the way you worded things sounds like you may have been a little heavy handed when it was perhaps not necessary or appropriate.

"demanding" a refund may have been warranted, but I would have first asked for one and allowed the manufacturer the courtesy of demonstrating their CS.

Telling them that knife should have never left the shop like that, seems a bit inflammatory to me. Again, I would have given them the opportunity to tell me that it should not have happened this way.

By allowing them to make the first move, you have the opportunity to learn what sort of entity you are dealing with and with this information perhaps you can learn if you should give them future opportunities. It also gives some sort of indication what their expectations are.

OTOH if you are done with this manufacturer, you do not care about their expectations because you will never buy from them again...but still why scold them when they do everything you ask in apparent effort to appease you?
 
I just felt that at the price paid for this knife, that the knife should have been good to excellent in terms of fit and finish and it was not. When I say demanded, I called the company, explained to them what the situation was and asked for my money back. They said no problem send it back and their credit they promptly returned my money.

It was not visible from the outside but the knife design is open handle and it was kinda of a big knife, so when I open the blade and was giving it the visual once over the burn spot was easy to see as it was large in size and very dark and odd in color. It was readily apparent and or obviously visible with the blade open.

I've bought and handled a lot of titanium frame locks over the years and never seen anything like that before, to compound the problem I know for a fact that the same company had prior problems with some of the titanium handles for that particular model not being heat treated properly. So putting two and two together I said, thanks but no thanks.

I guess my question if that was the indication of a problem, what was it?
 
I would have done the same thing. I don't know what would cause that or if it would weaken the slab at all, but when you are paying for custom perfection you want custom perfection. If it was a knife I really wanted though I would have just asked for a new knife.
 
MikeC said:
I guess my question if that was the indication of a problem, what was it?
Click to expand...

Fair enough...and please take my comment as merely and honest answer to (my interpretation of) your question. I don't mean to sound judgmental...just offering up negotiation tactics that work for me.

Regarding if there was a heat treat problem...I can not say for sure, but I can tell you that some people pay dearly for customization of Ti slabs including "flaming" where heat is used to produce a pattern over the entire slab. I assume that those that do it on the very expensive knives they produce, know what they are doing and do it without damaging the integrity of the knife.

The fact that you say it was on the inside of the slab only seems to indicate that it was a surface blemish. I would certainly question a "burn mark" that appears to penetrate the slab completely and is visible on both sides. This question is probably impossible to answer (at this point) even if we had photos of the blemish.

However, the fact that it concerns you only demonstrates that you did the right thing by contacting the manufacture and returning it. Life is way to short to carry knives that you doubt.
 
Titanium can only be heat treated a few hardness points I believe and doesn't get anywhere near knife hardness. I think it normally maxes out in the low 40s Rc? Like was mentioned many people customize titanium by applying heat that colors the metal. The heat is sometimes preferred over anodizing because it supposedly goes deeper into the metal. This heating would mess up any heat treating but I have never heard of ti handles being heat treated. When people try to make a ti blade then yes every bit of hardness matters but not so much with a handle slab.

I don't think the knife was damaged or harmed in any way but if you didn't like it, you didn't like it. It sounds like the company did good so I wouldn't completely dismiss them if they produce something you like.
 
This may be a bit off topic,but how do they get that "flammed" look on titanium?to get that rainbow sort of effect?
 
Was the Ti flame coloured or was it a satin/tumbled/blasted finish ?

If it was heat coloured then that may just be a normal thing for that knife. If not then I don't see
why it would be like that but it would also make no difference to the knife either. Titanium does
not behave like steel so heat can't cause the same problems it would to a steel blade for eg.
 
No the knife handles were flat gray in finish so I would matte or blasted finish, it was not shiny like some of the ti handled knives.
 
1868 said:
This may be a bit off topic,but how do they get that "flammed" look on titanium?to get that rainbow sort of effect?
Click to expand...

Exactly how you just described, with a flame. I simple propane torch and some creative application of heat and you have colors. Different temperature produces different colors.
 
Ti becomes very prone to oxidation at temperatures above 750 degrees F. Oxidized Ti can be very brittle because it has been turned from a metal into a salt. This effect is much more noticeable on thin parts especially if they are flexed.
 
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