Rebending Ti clips?

C

ChapmanPreferred

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Oct 7, 2006
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Hi STR,

I tried the search feature however I did not come up with my answer.

I am curious if it would be possible to rebend (with heat I imagine) a Spyderco Salt clip (Ti)? I am hoping to allow a little more room between the scale and the inside of the clip.

Any thoughts, or suggestions? If I should be inquiring in a different forum, I will gladly do so.

Thanks,

Doug
 
Thats fine to ask here. I mean I have been known to bend some titanium now and again. :D

Sure you can rebend it to a new 'set' or in other words establish a new memory set for the clip.

Generally speaking thinner titanium can be bent easy enough but only so far before it tears. So it may require heat to bend it if you are doing much more than gentle bends, which on that particular clip may affect the black finish drastically. It could be you'll end up having to strip that black off by bead blasting or sanding once done if you have to bend it a lot.

This kind of a bend would require heating it to an orange glow and then bending, and even then it would probably be repeated steps of heating it again to keep it glowing hot since titanium cools down quite rapidly compared to steel. If you had a jib or brake set up to make the bend it could be done all at one time but if doing it by hand expect to take three steps to get it bend around like this unless you are really good at it. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=128909&d=1239391921

All these bends you see here in this clip were done with no heat though so again it depends on just how far you are taking it as to how much you can get away with with titanium. The memory is reset after a bend like this. Heat seems to help with that some but its not necessary at all to lock it to a set. It kind of keeps that set once its taken to the point where there is a distinct difference in appearance where it shows a distinct bend line or point of change in the flow of the metal. Hope that makes sense.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=112392&d=1225388298

STR
 
I have a small benchvise. Would that be appropriate for holding the Ti while it is heated? Would it draw too much heat from the Ti? How difficult will it be to bend? Do you tap on it with a small hammer or use pliers?

Thank you again for fielding my questions.

Doug
 
Its not a problem. Without seeing what you want to do it is hard for me do know what to tell you. Some bends won't require heat as you can just bend it you know? How hard depends on thickness and width where you are trying to bend it too.

I would probably use some body pliers like those used to do body work which are also called Duck Bill Vise Grips by some.

A pair of regular pliers will mar it all up but some made to work metal will not have teeth so that would be best. A bench vise will work but you should shield the teeth on it too with some hard wood maybe or lead shields. If you post a picture of what you need to bend it might help me to better advise you.

STR
 
Sorry for the delay, my camera is not "feeling well" but I will try some pics tonight or tomorrow. Thank you for your time and expertise!

Doug
 
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