Noob Ti question

C

Celtic Archer

Joined
Jan 8, 2006
Messages
28
Hi all. I'm brand new here. I have a scrap piece of 6AL-4V Ti plate and I had wanted to try use it to make a couple of simple knives (fighter and skinner).

My first question is what kind of heat treatments should I do with it and will I even be able to treat it. I know Ti can be quite brittle and unique in it's properties. I did'nt want to just use the same tempering steps you guys have suggested for steels and find out the hard way that it will shatter like glass or an alien will fly out of the metal.

Second question: Is this even a good metal to use for a knife blade?
 
Put that piece of steel back on the shelf with other things marked unknown and find yourself a piece of w-1 -5160-1080 or some other well known, basic carbon steel. The challenge is big enough even using known steels. You'll break out in a sweat making your first knives. So take the easy road here.
I have no idea what the steel is you refer to. Good luck, Fred
 
That titanium is essentially not heat-treatable the way steel is. It doesn't hold a very good edge. There is application for things like dive knives or non-magnetic, but not much beyond that.

Anodized, it makes nice 'furniture" fror knives, and nice jewelry.
 
sorry to be off topic but what kind of super bike? what parts were you building? titanuim as you know is great for motorcycle parts but i have read that it is not ideal for a blade. I READ that its hardness makes it brittle in sharp points. good luck and keep the shiny side up
 
6AL4V will make a knife that slices flesh OK but it won't hold its edge very long at all.

You can heat it up and quench it to make it a little better in the edge holding department. I'm not sure exactly the process, but cherry red and quench in water works, I think.

Ti is also not an easy material to grind at all (though it sounds like you have some experience already, so it may not be so bad.)

I would recommend you get a better material to try to make a knife from, but by all means go ahead with the titanium if you want! I use that grade for knife "furniture" as suggested above.
 
I'm usually not a fan of sending inquiring folks off to the search-button dungeon, because questions repeated can sometimes illicit fresh solutions to old problems. In this case however, Ti just isn't a blade material. It surprises me how much this question continues to pop up all the time.
 
jhiggins said:
I'm usually not a fan of sending inquiring folks off to the search-button dungeon, because questions repeated can sometimes illicit fresh solutions to old problems. In this case however, Ti just isn't a blade material. It surprises me how much this question continues to pop up all the time.
Click to expand...


No, No, No.

Jeff, How many offspring does IG have? :D
 
Raymond Richard said:
No, No, No.

Jeff, How many offspring does IG have? :D
Click to expand...

His Demon Seed has spread to at least a couple I know of. There's probably more that woudl not care to admit they are swimming in his gene pool, HAH! :D
 
You're right Jeff... every week!!

And one of the biggest myths in the internet knife world is the "heat treating" 6AL4V. It can be heat treated in for STRENGTH in an argon atmosphere by professional heat treaters but it can't be heat treated by anyone for hardness. No way no how. Cook it. Roast it. You can shake an' bake it but it don't get no harder. :)

6AL4V makes a good kitchen/eating knife for a backpacker who wants extreme lightness over all else. Otherwise it makes a cool looking crappy knife. :D
 
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