Metal Foam - Applications in knives?

[Iboschi]

I thought this was intriguing: http://www.wimp.com/metalfoam/. I wouldn't want it in a knife (for obvious reasons), but perhaps some handles could be made from it. Ultra strong and durable slabs on my RAT or Busse would be hard to beat. Can anyone else think of any blade related applications for it?

 

[orthogonal1]

That technology has a ways to go. Pricey to make at this time.

And it is intented to allow more controlled compression, not "ultra strength".

Fixed blade handles would be cool, I suppose, but offer no real advantage over scales with multiple holes drilled in them.

 

[Iboschi]

You're right of course. It's just nice to see something different. Although, the handles would probably be lighter than drilled steel handles and could be thicker and still very light. I do like fat slabs on my fixed blades and I'll bet the texture on some "metal foam" handles would be neat. Not to mention that secondary "cool" factor.

 

[orthogonal1]

The hollow metal spheres are a steel, so with equal sized drilled holes the "foam metal" is heavier.

There was also an issue with aluminum to sphere adhesion that became evident during cutting samples for testing - that was in 2004.