I was at Lowes the other day and noticed they were selling some gold tone Kobalt brand utility knife blades advertised as being Titanium coated, for added corrosion resistance. I have had a problem with my utility knife blades getting corroded, some just from sitting in my toolbox. I prefer to buy the American made blade- Stanley and Master Mechanic from True Value- but is it worthwhile to buy the Kobalts or is there claim full of dung?
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Kobalt Titanium Coated Utility Knife Blades
- Thread starter mp510
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Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
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Titanium has some panache as a "space age" metal, but I don't expect anyone in advertising to know or care what its strengths really are.
Keep buying the knives you're happy with. Just make sure you wipe them down with oil periodically, and they will be fine. I like food grade mineral oil myself. It's light, doesn't smell funny, works well, and you can get a bottle of it real cheaply at the pharmacy.
Keep buying the knives you're happy with. Just make sure you wipe them down with oil periodically, and they will be fine. I like food grade mineral oil myself. It's light, doesn't smell funny, works well, and you can get a bottle of it real cheaply at the pharmacy.
Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2000
- Messages
- 90,915
THAT is seriously unimpressive. If the coating extends over the edge, it will degrade its cutting ability by thickening it. If it doesn't, then what purpose does it serve? Titanium even in knives is not noted for its ability to retain a sharp edge.
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Those "Power of titanium" electric razor commercials always crack me up, the ones where they cut cars in half and whatnot with a titanium saw. Now if they came out with an electric razor that used carbide...that'd be a whole nother story.
The Ti coating is supposed to have an RC much higher than 64 - more like 82-84, IIRC. The point is to have an extremely hard edge that resists abrasion much better than the underlying steel, without the brittleness. That's why it's used on drill bits, and Buck has used it on their blades for quite a while. Applied to blades, Ti is a great at resisting abrasion and corrosion, even if the edge may be left unprotected.
My experience with the cheap import bits shows it works well - better than the expensive ones I bought from a shop vendor - because the working edge of the point handles abuse so much better. They stay sharp much longer. Conversely, the process used to apply the Ti hasn't been described as optimum for heat treat - I'd love to hear Paul Bos discuss the in's and outs.
As for "Titanium" branded products, it sounds like the hype is working. I see stuff with "titanium" plastered on the label, and that's the total content in the product: ink on a label. Let the buyer beware.
My experience with the cheap import bits shows it works well - better than the expensive ones I bought from a shop vendor - because the working edge of the point handles abuse so much better. They stay sharp much longer. Conversely, the process used to apply the Ti hasn't been described as optimum for heat treat - I'd love to hear Paul Bos discuss the in's and outs.
As for "Titanium" branded products, it sounds like the hype is working. I see stuff with "titanium" plastered on the label, and that's the total content in the product: ink on a label. Let the buyer beware.