Full Titanium Framelocks - Post pics of yours

Moxy said:
I've always loved the alias, but mine had some problems with the lock sticking bad. So I eventually sold it. I'd love to get my hands on a perfect specimen.
Click to expand...
The Alias II did have locking and centering issues but, I think I have them worked out now and I love the knife. The Alias I also was a little sticky the first week or so I had it but, seems to have worn in and now only sticks if I try to make it by pushing on it. I got both of them off eBay and for the price I paid for them I can't complain one bit.
 
I only have three full Ti framelocks. I need a few more...

DSC00246.JPG


DSC02244.JPG
 
Rubicon_Joey said:
The Alias II did have locking and centering issues but, I think I have them worked out now and I love the knife. The Alias I also was a little sticky the first week or so I had it but, seems to have worn in and now only sticks if I try to make it by pushing on it. I got both of them off eBay and for the price I paid for them I can't complain one bit.
Click to expand...

I recall reading somewhere that titanium is a galling metal. Thus it has a tendency to stick naturally. For the Ti knives I have, it's nothing a drop of Tuf-Glide once a day won't fix. I keep the applicator bottle right here next to my computer, and whatever knives are on me get a drop here and there daily.

Otherwise, I feel it is a price to be paid for liking titanium. I have a pair of old Oakley E-Wires with titanium frames, and another with normal frames (yes they are old shades that I paid a pretty penny for back in the day, still in exceptional non scratched shape). The titanium frames have a different feel when opening and closing the ear pieces.
 
cbxer55 said:
I recall reading somewhere that titanium is a galling metal. Thus it has a tendency to stick naturally. For the Ti knives I have, it's nothing a drop of Tuf-Glide once a day won't fix. I keep the applicator bottle right here next to my computer, and whatever knives are on me get a drop here and there daily.

Otherwise, I feel it is a price to be paid for liking titanium. I have a pair of old Oakley E-Wires with titanium frames, and another with normal frames (yes they are old shades that I paid a pretty penny for back in the day, still in exceptional non scratched shape). The titanium frames have a different feel when opening and closing the ear pieces.
Click to expand...
I've got a bottle of FP-10 I've been using on all my knives and guns. Might have to check out this Tuf-Glide stuff if I ever run out of the FP-10.
 
Back to the topic of titanium frame or liner locks sticking. Found this. I highlighted the on topic part. Apparently most makers find this "sticking" to be a good thing.

Here are some comments from a very well and respected maker on the forums that has tested numerous locks. I will not post his name as this was a private conversation and let’s keep it that way.

"I've done some steel inserts in mine. The wear rates are not far off from titanium to steel. Both wear very well. Heat anodizing helps to form a deeper near ceramic hardness on the titanium since heating it by a torch anodizes the ti from the inside out as opposed to using a DC current which is from the outside in or the outside layer only. That ceramic hard oxide layer wears pretty well against even the hardest blades. If it didn't people would have stopped using ti a long time ago.

The real factors as I see it is impact strength not wear resistance. In my own testing for Kershaw and other companies that sent me product to beat the snot out of on their behalf I found that the steel frame knives held up better to sudden shock impacts like spine and overstrike whacking as opposed to the softer ti which could indent easier and deeper scarring the surfaces more. So to me this is the key factor behind it but there is a draw back since steel is less forgiving than titanium. Ti tends to gall or stick to itself and dissimilar metals and this sticking effect has been seen forever by makers as a real benefit.

Not to sound bad but you can be off some on contact angle and get by with it by using ti since it can make up for your short fallings here whereas steel would just slide right off the contact. Steel will demand the contacts be spot on and if they are not well, you'll see locks sliding off the contact toward release easier than ti when the contact angle is not right.

I've used inserts of steel in a couple folders I did a while back. To me having to do them the way I did they were more trouble than they were worth. Most of my folders give me very little trouble as it is. However, I am low key and not selling what is being marketed as a 'hard use' knife either. We'll see how long this lasts but it could be the beginnings of a trend in the hard use category if people start testing them and find they hold up better. It will depend on the steel used. I really fail to see much benefit if the steel they are using is just 410 stainless at 45 Rockwell. Ti is 39 Rockwell or so and although softer by quite a bit technically it wears at such a slow rate that in normal use most folks are not going to notice any diff or benefit to this insert at all. It’s just the guys beating on them that will pick up on it probably.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top