For those who know Ti

Varga Knives

Varga Knives

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Aug 12, 2006
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I am tossing around the idea of a small project right now and I don't know if the end result would be strong enough. I project would be a small titanium pry-bar but my dimensions are limited. Length is not as strict and would be about 2 1/2 inches but the width could only be 1/4 inch and the thickness only 1/8 inch. Would a pry-bar this small be strong enough to do light to medium tasks or would it bend. If anyone has any example scenarios to illustrate the ultimate toughness I would appreciate it.

Thanks
 
Thank you Frank. I may have been able to go to 1/2" wide with a lot of secondary design changes. Probably the most important dimension necessary to change would be the thickness. With some other mods I could go to 3/8" and that would probably make it fairly strong.
 
How much weight are you looking to lift?

Ti makes a fine prybar, but like anything, the bigger the cross section the stronger it is...
 
I am not sure which Ti. I have absolutely no skills in making this and I am just trying to zero in on a design of mine.

As far as the use: small nails, staples out of wood, opening paint cans, everyday stuff that I want to save my blade tip from having to do. I'm still not 100% convinced that my original perameters wouldn't be adequate for these tasks as I have used cheap small screwdrivers to do a variety of prying and i have only bent a few. :)
 
Would a piece of blade steel perhaps be better? In 1/8" it would work real well and would not add a lot of weight to your project. Heat treatit too. Frank
 
Is heat treated blade steel stronger than titanium for this application or would the difference at least be negligible?
 
steel @ RC 60 is around 300 ksi tensile strength

6 4 Ti alloy with STA HT around 177 ksi

6 4 ti ELI 135 ksi

cp ti 60 ksi

all steel is twice as stiff (double the elastic modulus) as all titanium regardless of ht

...but titanium is COOL!!! tough too.

So I would go with Frank's suggestion of blade steel for a prybar (or tipsaver as some call them) but if you must have Ti make it of 6 4 alloy with STA treatment
 
I think Tai like 5160 for crowbars....oh wait you said Ti. Nevermind - wrong person, wrong metal for the job - Use steel.
 
In the kind of project you are describing, my first thought is Peter Atwood.

http://www.atwoodknives.com/

He is using 3/16 154-CM for most of them.

It seems that he is also using Titanium for some
313794211pesttray.jpg


I see no specs, but it looks pretty thick & considering the limited run nature of his products, it's possible that they are all being collected and not used.


You could contact him and ask some specifics.
 
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Another vote for steel. If you're not equipped or know what to expect when drillng, cutting or grinding even cp ti is a real pain. You'll ruin some bits or blades before you get the hang of it.
 
Thanks for all the responses! I am looking forward to the day when I can finally make myself a little workshop and start tinkering. For now though, I am stuck to pen and paper designs. What I had in mind (I haven't seen it before but it may be out there) is a small pry-bar that could be used to save the blade tip from unnecessary damage. The pry would pivot open on an existing stand off of a folding knife and close to fit in the back spacer. An easier design would be incorporated on a fixed blade and the whole width of the hanlde could be utilized.
 
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