P.O.'d at Nick Wheeler

[David Wesner]

Has anyone worked with this stuff ? How does it anodize ?Just like regular Ti , surface prep, surface prep ? Are the properties very similar to 6AL/4V Ti ? How is it on the saw ? Anything else that I need to be aware of or tips would be greatly appreciated .Does anyone have any information as to the composition of this stuff ? Hey , if you guys haven't seen Nicks Wheelers Dagger that uses Timascus go to Alpha www.alphaknifesupply.com and hit the " Knives with Timascus Gallery " .Why didn't you show that Blade to us Nick ? Its awesome !! Or did I miss it ? There are some Top Shelf Blades on there from some other familiar names not to be missed too.:thumbup:

 

[NickWheeler]

I saw somebody was po'd at me, and that wasn't any surprise But I can answer your questions a bit.

Tom and Bill forge up Timascus from 6AL4V and CP (commercially pure) Ti.

It's not the easiest thing in the world to work with, it's pretty dang tough. But if you work it slow (grinding with the grinder turned WAY down) a belt will just grind and grind on it.

It will cut on a 10/14 Lenox blade just fine.

Anodizing is great, as you have such a broad color range, AND control. But many of us heat color it with a propane torch. It does seem that the heat-coloring oxides are a bit more durable than anodizing.

Probably the coolest anodizing job was Alan Elishewitz's. He cleaned the Timascus with some kind of industrial bleach, and then anodized a light blue color... VERY cool.

Thanks for the kind words too!

 

[John R. Fraps]

Tom Ferry, Bill Cottrell, and Chuck Bybee invented the stuff and introduced it a few years ago at the BLADE Show.

Recommend if you are going to finish it, go to a high shine...maybe a 1500-2000 grit or better before coloring. I have not had alot of experience anodizing it....do like to heat color it...recommend propane as it colors slower than MAP gas or hotter. Also seems to brighten the colors with a light coat of Renasance Wax hand applied and lightly buffed by hand with flannel cloth after assembly of the knife.
When I use it, I usually do bolsters in Timascus. Some have done entire handles, which can be stunning but it is not an inexpensive material. Get them all finished in the silver, pre heat coloring state...lay the bolsters on a piece of steel in my vice and heat color either/or from the underside of the steel "platform" or directly heat the top surface as evenly as possible. When the right color is attained, I knock the pieces off into a bucket of water I have under the steel "shelf" to halt the coloring process....must be very clean water to avoid staining the Timascus coloring. If for some reason, you don't like the results of the coloring, completely sand, buff, or 3M fiber deburring wheel remove the color and take back to high shine in sliver and recolor with torch. It does seem that if you handle the colored Timascus as little as possible especially for the first day or so after the coloring, it seems to have the coloring "harden" a bit...this may just be my mind rather than reality, but it seems so. Also avoid handling as fingerprints contain oil/ skin acids etc..and on a highly shined and colored piece, they could affect the colors a bit...again in my mind anyhow.
Fully concur that working this stuff is like working Titanium...slow enough on a grinder to avoid sparks...same as I work Titanium. Timascus is 6-4 and CP and is a bit "gummy" to work if you grind anything but slowly and "coolly". Will also mill well but take your time and use slower speeds. Ti burning sparks and fumes are not fun and ti fire is hard to put out...and burns hot and almost blindingly bright white. Treat the stuff with respect. It can give you a beautiful enhancement to a knife you make or look for it in a knife you may collect. The maker was willing to make a reasonably sizeable additional investment in the knife he/she made and seems to be accepted as an enhancement to a collected knife's value. Chuck Bybee/Alpha Knife Supply is, to my knowledge, still the exclusive marketer of Timascus.
Try some, it is neat stuff (that is my "technical assessment" of Timascus).

 

[David Wesner]

Man,Thanks alot for the run down guys.Nick,I thought the Title of the thread would at the very least get you to look at the question.I know I said it once but that Dagger is really a Beautiful piece of work.John,thanks to you too.And you my friend also have the "Gift".Very Beautiful stuff.You know,I'm finding that anodizing is not nearly as durable as I first thought too.I will most definatly be experimenting with the Flame.John I can't address the "Hardening" but I agree with you on the skin oils,acids etc. drastically affecting the appearance.I anodized some Ti a Gold color a few Blades back and that was terrible for changing appearance after handling. Only a wash in soap & water restored the original appearance.I keep saying appearance rather than color because that is the way I understand the process of anodization to work.I could be wrong.Is using Heat more durable because the process does actually create color as opposed to to the anodizing process only blocking certain spectrums.Or are they just different means to the same end?Nick , you mentioned Alan Elishwitz,(I agree,Great ,Great Knifemaker) and the use of Bleach as a cleaner.I have tried several different processes & products for cleaning Ti prior to anodizing.I recently got a jug of Multi-Etch from Reactive Metals & am anxious to try it.Is the "cleaning process" "surface prep" just as important with flame coloring Timascus (& Ti ) for that matter as with anodizing ? I really appreciate the input fellas.Thanks.:thumbup: BTW , I just looked at Alpha's sight again and there is all kinds of info on Timascus there.In fact I don't know how I missed it.