Pair of Maringer Haikus, Titanium to the Max

tmaring

tmaring

Joined
Mar 26, 2000
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I've been making some knives again lately... and learning some new techniques. Specifically... TIG welding in titanium!

I'm working on a series of knives I call "Haiku"... so called because they are all takedown pieces and when fully disassembled there are 17 parts... same number as the syllables in a haiku poem.

I use a modified Japanese tang system I call a "toggle tang", in which an internal part I call a toggle is pinned to the blade, and accepts a screw through the pommel to hold everything together.

I've been doing some wire wrapped handles and some rubber wrapped handles. Here are the two latest efforts... serial #920 (dropped point blade), and #921 (swept point blade) Since I've just now finally gotten set up to TIG weld in titanium, these are the first ones I've done with all titanium furniture, INCLUDING the subhilt, AND the wire wrapping itself! So it's Ti to the Max... or you might say "TiMaxion" (apologies to Buckminster Fuller). I'm excited about this new direction! I tend to be a stickler for weight and balance in knives, and these are finally feeling "right" to me.

The specs: Those are both 7 1/2" double edged D-2 blades, the knives are each ~13 inches overall... and weigh just 8.1 oz, with the balance right on the front handle collar... where the first finger goes in most grip styles.

I still have to decide about the final finishes... whether to stonewash or leave polished... and whether to anodize the handle and Ti parts... so they're not quite done yet... but far enough along to start looking like something.
 

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please don't stonewash those blades!

I think a nice pewter anodizing of the handles would look really nice. And you can't go wrong with black- it goes great with pearls AND diamonds;):thumbup:

Beautiful work. I am totally geeking out on that titanium. Just love that stuff.

These have got to be some of the coolest knives ever made. I want one.

And a big :thumbup: to Buckminster Fuller! What a guy.
 
Understatement of the year, Mr. Branton. ;)

My personal preference would be to leave them as-is. Polished and no anodizing. I don't have anything against stonewashing or anodizing, mind you, but I think these look just right the way they are.

I wonder if Keith already has a new avatar?
 
Thanks for the input! One thought on anodizing is to SHOW that they're titanium. Polished the way they are they LOOK almost identical to stainless. And the knives sitting on a table tend to LOOK heavy anyway... all that metal makes you think they're going to weigh a ton. But they're not at all... very light actually. So the question is: how do you SHOW it? To my eye the stonewashed and anodized finish looks lighter. The basic problem of course is that books and pictures and forums can only depict a visual image of a knife... when the actual KNIFENESS of the piece is only appreciated in the hand. It's a tactile experience, not a visual object! So here we have a style of construction that is somewhat unusual and which therefore leads one to erroneous assumptions about how it will feel. I'm just not sure how to deal with that... other than to lay some on the table at BLADE and see what peple think once they handle them.
 
Tom, those are absolutely INCREDIBLE!!

I normally do not like shiny blades, but those look perfect just as they are.
 
Tom, I think you'll just have to send me one so I can give you my 'tactile' impressions;):D
 
Your work is so distinct and fabulous . When I was younger I used to drool over your stuff and things have not changed. So cool to see you putting out such innovative and unique blades.. No stonewash and as for anodizeing some black or bronze would be cool but nothing day glow :D They look fantastic as is.
 
Mr. Maringer,

Am not very fond of anodizing simply because of the fragility...if you have not tried heat coloring, it was recommended to me by Chuck Bybee of Alpha Knife Supply, and we have found it significantly more durable than anodizing, pretty much requiring bead blasting or sanding to remove the color...the straw yellows are quite lovely...barring your interest in persuing that avenue, I would suggest leaving as is...you are not going to be hurting for customers, as a matter of fact, if you would like to sell me one of those, a PM would be appreciated.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
^atta boy:thumbup:
 
Kohai999 said:
Mr. Maringer,

Am not very fond of anodizing simply because of the fragility...if you have not tried heat coloring, it was recommended to me by Chuck Bybee of Alpha Knife Supply, and we have found it significantly more durable than anodizing, pretty much requiring bead blasting or sanding to remove the color...the straw yellows are quite lovely...barring your interest in persuing that avenue, I would suggest leaving as is... Best Regards, STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

Hi Steven: PM sent. Thanks for the suggestions on heat coloring. I have had the experience of seeing the anodizing scuff off rather easily. I imagine the temp control would have to be precise, but it's worth looking into.
Have you seen a color/temperature chart at all? I made my own voltage reference set for anodizing. I would imagine that the available color palette is the same.
 
tmaring said:
Hi Steven: PM sent. Thanks for the suggestions on heat coloring. I have had the experience of seeing the anodizing scuff off rather easily. I imagine the temp control would have to be precise, but it's worth looking into.
Have you seen a color/temperature chart at all? I made my own voltage reference set for anodizing. I would imagine that the available color palette is the same.
Click to expand...

It tends towards the straws and ramps up straight to "buy me blue"....Chuck and Tom Ferry would know about control and variation of color, me I just go for blue.:D

AKS:

http://www.alphaknifesupply.com/

Tom Ferry:

http://tomferryknives.com/

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Those look amazing. . .I've been looking into welding some ti myself, even filled up my argon bottle. Oh and i like the look of the polish. . .

Gavin
 
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