Looking for a knife.

A

AdamWests

Joined
Jul 27, 2015
Messages
2
I'm looking to purchase a titanium alloy based combat knife, I want it to look similar to knife in the picture included in terms of length and design. Any recommendations as to where I would be able to buy such a knife?


on8300-ontario_knife_-_sp1_marine_combat-sheath.jpg
 
I'm mostly looking for something with high durability and sharpness. I mentioned the titanium alloy because it's non corrosive, and as I understand it titanium itself isn't all that strong without the added blend of another metal. Although i'm a beginner with these things so if you think there's another alloy or material you'd think i'd prefer for what i'm looking for feel free to suggest.
 
Well hrm. How about we start from the beginning.

-What specific tasks will the knife see regularly?
-What is the hardest task the knife could be pressed into, fire wood processing, or cardboard and food prep?
-What is your cap regarding price?
-Are you comfortable with a non-stainless steel?
-What do you have to sharpen the knife with?
-What length blade are you looking for, a 9" bladed chopper, or a 3" edc blade? (Grab a kitchen knife and a tape measure to be sure)
 
AdamWests said:
I'm mostly looking for something with high durability and sharpness.
Click to expand...

Welcome. The knife you pictured will get as sharp as a titanium knife, and is probably more durable.

What got you on the "titanium" kick? As a beginner, I think it might behoove you to do a lot more reading before you start picking out metals for your custom blade.

I get the feeling, and no offense intended, that a lot more using might help too?
 
AdamWests said:
I'm mostly looking for something with high durability and sharpness. I mentioned the titanium alloy because it's non corrosive, and as I understand it titanium itself isn't all that strong without the added blend of another metal. Although i'm a beginner with these things so if you think there's another alloy or material you'd think i'd prefer for what i'm looking for feel free to suggest.
Click to expand...

There are better options if corrosion resistance is your number one priority. And if corrosion resistance is important but not your main priority then that will open up way more options still. A good start would be to do your best to answer the questions that NJBill posted. You will get some great suggestions here but the more information you provide the better the suggestions you will get. If you don't know the answer to some of the questions, then ask for opinions here. There is absolutely no shortage. :D
 
Mission Knives makes knives just like what you're looking for. I've never had one, but they seem to have a good reputation, and use a beta metastable titanium alloy that is hardenable and better suited for a blade than basic structural stock.

Ti alloys are as sensitive to heat treatment and a varied in character as steels. Many cheap knives that are marketed to be made of a titanium alloy are not ti alloy at all, or they are a low-quality with huge blown-out grain size that makes the blade seem "harder" after HT but will perform poorly.

http://www.missionknives.com/shop/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=1
 
Titanium is great if you are diffusing bombs underwater in a Vietnamese river. Other than that steel is really better in general. Be honest about what situations you'd like to be prepared for. If it's bomb defusal, then hey my man, go for it. If not, we can probably lean you a better way.
 
Mecha is right... Mission knives is where to go for what you want.

You'll burn $400-ish bucks on it, probably for no reason.

I'm betting this crew can give you a real good recommendation that will suit you to a Tee. NJBillK's questionnaire above is a good start.
 
Philosophis said:
Titanium is great if you are diffusing bombs underwater in a Vietnamese river. Other than that steel is really better in general. Be honest about what situations you'd like to be prepared for. If it's bomb defusal, then hey my man, go for it. If not, we can probably lean you a better way.
Click to expand...

A non-crappy titanium alloy knife can handle normal cutting tasks just fine. There are certainly steel/ti differences but a nice ti alloy blade is perfectly reasonable.
 
Mecha said:
A non-crappy titanium alloy knife can handle normal cutting tasks just fine. There are certainly steel/ti differences but a nice ti alloy blade is perfectly reasonable.
Click to expand...

I guess I am working off outdated knowledge of crappy ones for very specific tasks and have discounted them since. But hey, I hope to be wrong. That just means more great stuff in the world.
I read somewhere that Boker was blending ceramic with what could have been titanium (vague memory of this) in order to strengthen it. Is this maybe partly what you mean?
Even so doesn't this still relegate ti to one of two knives you'd carry? Ti for some general cutting to save your sharper steel edge for when really needed?
 
Philosophis said:
I guess I am working off outdated knowledge of crappy ones for very specific tasks and have discounted them since. But hey, I hope to be wrong. That just means more great stuff in the world.
I read somewhere that Boker was blending ceramic with what could have been titanium (vague memory of this) in order to strengthen it. Is this maybe partly what you mean?
Even so doesn't this still relegate ti to one of two knives you'd carry? Ti for some general cutting to save your sharper steel edge for when really needed?
Click to expand...

What you've heard about titanium knife blades isn't particularly outdated considering the current state of experimentation on the matter. Metallurgy marches on, it's a fast-moving area of science and technology, and new uses are found. Titanium alloys, particularly the highly heat-treatable "beta metastable" ones, simply haven't been explored that much yet, and where they have been most thoroughly scrutinized is for use as super strong structural components for insane machines (aerospace, outer space, particle accelerators, human implants, etc.). It can be heat treated to be optimized for other purposes, such as an experimental beta titanium vehicle armor made by the Air Force in the 1970s (HRc 60-65, considered superior to steel armor but too expensive to make to be worth it. :D)

The majority of the sticks of titanium alloy that are made are a basic alpha-beta form made to be somewhat soft and very tough in all conditions (6al4v) hence the good feedback when this alloy is enhanced with a very hard tungsten-carbide edge, but even that alloy comes in various forms of quality and purity, and can be a great large blade if it's worked right. Other ti alloys can be quite wild in their properties. I've been perfecting one beta ti alloy for chopping blades and small swords, and it's performed amazingly well!

Alloy properties are simply not that simple, dismissing ti would be like dismissing iron. One would say, "but it's alloyed with other elements to make steel and this dramatically changes the properties especially when heat-treated right." Titanium as a base metal is the same way. It IS different, but it can be quite nice. In my experience, which is dominated by large chopping blades and not knives that must be exceptionally keen and slice thousands of times, Ti can work just smashingly.

Here is a real-world anecdote of a beta ti knife in use:

This experimental beta alloy knife was made for a friend of mine, Fabio, who is a chef from Sicily. He cuts meat and fish all day long, all week long. Knife-making skill aside, he said the alloy works beautifully and cuts smoothly, HOWEVER he must strop the blade halfway through a shift (4 hours). With his steel knife he must only strop it once at the end of a shift. He says the knife feels like a little sword, and doesn't think the mid-day stropping is unreasonable for his particular use; he's fond of the knife. A cleaver would perhaps be a better knife design for this metal, the way it is heat-treated.

5DJlOIg.jpg


I hope to show all knife makers that there are some great and very functional pieces to be made from exotic beta titanium alloys.
 
Well written with great knowledge. That's wonderful, thank you. Maybe it's time to give one a try. Perhaps a gladius? (Hint-hint)
 
Thanks Philosophis. :) Since you mention it, I made a spur-of-the-moment WIP gladius a little while back out of the same alloy as the kitchen knife:

OS42Wvr.jpg


I was named the Bombus Gladius, but the eccentric fellow who owns it calls it the Buzzimus Maximus. He wears it when he's patrolling around his Northern California property, and spent all winter throwing it at a barn and an oak tree. Other than some minor scratches and nicks in the tip from where the sword went into the dirt and struck rocks, the sword still looks unscathed! If another one was made, it would be a bit bigger, a lot thinner, and have an oval handguard.

Here is a link if you want to see the WIP:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...d-titanium-gladius?highlight=titanium+gladius
 
Wow. Thumbs up my friend.
78eeb60c0b4b8429b622e5c03062c054.jpg

That thread was fascinating to read. Great work. You've made me re-evaluate my thinking on titanium. I've always wanted to get a gladius for my lady who stands at 5 foot 1 inch figuring that It'd be a good size for her. Now here you come along and make it lighter to boot. Perfect! I know from reading that thread that I'm a dime a dozen in saying this but, I'd certainly be very interested in buying one of these one day from you.
To the OP: listen to this man Mecha here, I will.

Well done sir.
 
Well more swords are always in the works, so a new, improved beta ti gladius is sure to appear, it's only a matter of time. Thanks for the kind words, and NICE SHIRT! :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top