TitaniLor

I have one. :) Made by Willie Nease, tho.
Black over Red and... chisel ground. I kid you not.
 
Sure but Google, TiKat on you tube. I think that vdo is still up. Willie gives this sword a work out.
Sorry for the hijakk.
rolf
 
Will York said:
I think it's interesting as an experiment. My understanding is that Ti is considerably weaker (stronger for its weight, but weaker head-to-head than a steel blade in the same thickness/configuration) and less wear resistant than steel, and obviously in that configuration will not give the momentum/power-chopping action of a heavier steel blade. But it will be lighter to carry and conceivably faster, as in machete-stroke/slashing speed. Of course, with fullers, full-height grinds and reduced tangs, steel can be lightened to compete in that aspect. But beating the hell out of that Ti blade should provide some interesting anecdotal data--looking forward to seeing how Lorien goes about destroying it. :)
Click to expand...

It's beta titanium, Will, and Sam has been torture testing it for some time. Someday, I may get my hands on one of his blades to test head to head with premium steel swords....so until that point, gonna have to depend upon Lorien's experiences comparing the Dan Keffeler piece to the the Titanium.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
prepare to have your mind blown, Mr. York!:D
 
Hey Rolf, William uses regular 6al-4v, not what Sam has. But I think you know this...

The properties are different and a proper (yet not fully realized) HT can make the beta Ti unique.

But Sam has info. on this in a couple other threads..
 
Kohai999 said:
It's beta titanium, Will, and Sam has been torture testing it for some time. Someday, I may get my hands on one of his blades to test head to head with premium steel swords....so until that point, gonna have to depend upon Lorien's experiences comparing the Dan Keffeler piece to the the Titanium.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

Yeah--should be interesting. Any performance aspect in which you would expect the beta Ti to surpass premium steel, other than speed/carry weight?

Thanks,
Will
 
Mr. Nease's titanium swords seem very nice, some of the only other ones I've ever heard of! I've made a few small ones out of 6al4v, which have performed really well, especially having been hammered out (which seems to toughen/harden the metal a lot). I can see why a plain bar of grade 5 flat bar stock, ground into a knife blade and left as-is, could be considered too soft, but so would a plain mild steel knife.

That said, the beta metastable alloy is heavier, and most importantly it's able to be heat-treated to dramatic effect: harder, more stiff, stronger in every way than grade 5 (6al4v), which is the commercially-available alloy generally referred to as "titanium." Titanium is usually used as a base metal to which one adds alloying elements, the same way as one does to iron when making steel alloys. Beta titanium alloys can have multiple martensitic hardening effects; the metallurgy of it is really complicated, and I keep learning more about it all the time! Zeroing it in!

There are a lot of different ways to measure the "strength" of a metal, and there are some parameters in which strong steel can exceed the numbers of titanium alloys (like hardness). But this beta stuff is really REALLY strong. It can be subjected to tremendous shock and forces, with almost no fatigue or damage. It's quite difficult to forge, cut, drill, or grind. Although it's stiff, it can also be flexed quite rudely and with a lot of force. I've never seen anything like it, for sure.

I like its flexibility, light weight and massive strength and impact power. Lorien seems to like its corrosion-proof properties! Mostly, I think it has everything needed to make a fantastic, stupendous sword. Such a sword takes lots of work and skill to make regardless of the metal used, skills I will be working on for a long time to come.
 
Thanks for the lesson and for describing the basis of your passion for the material--looking forward to seeing more. "Mecha" -- fuse? Sounds like yours is lit. :D
 
I wonder if you would't mind sharing what the composition of the particular beta-titanium used for this blade is. And how that was settled on.

TIA!
 
So, these pics are post heat treat.

On to handle assembly.





Some pretty colours, and one of the coolest maker's marks in existence;






Sam left some 'destruction seeds' to see if they would grow into wonderful, catastrophic failures;






Most of the edge is very clean and tight, however.






Handle materials laid out, and ready for shaping and installation;






Pretty close to final assembly;






That is some major copper! Just gotta keep this away from the crackheads lol:D






You cannot understate the importance of the blade's curvature to cutting efficiency. I've had a fair amount of experience using different blades with dissimilar amounts of curvature, and when I designed this one, it was with those experiences in mind. The edge drops below the handle and follows a subtle curve along its entire length. Sam ground the tip portion and left a good amount of material there, just as requested.






The blade is about 3/16" thick at the ricasso, and tapers gradually toward the tip. It is fairly thin, flexible and light in weight. Overall weight is 810 grams, or 1.76 pounds. Blade is 19 1/2", handle is 8".

 
Well, I have to explain the big goofy square pommel. It frustrating to get so close and then fail in forging the bar stock into the design's actual dimensions. From then on, it became a simplified tester blade, destined to be thrashed and bashed (and thoroughly enjoyed). The balance felt good about the time the pommel became a square, so it got left that way! :D

The chopper is basically a slimmed approximation of Lorien's real design, and although it's missing the more eccentric points, curves and details, it's pretty much the same size, and should handle similarly. I figure using the damn thing would probably inspire him to alter his idea of a "Northwest forest titanium trailblazing chopper!"
 
Mecha said:
I figure using the damn thing would probably inspire him to alter his idea of a "Northwest forest titanium trailblazing chopper!"
Click to expand...

It has indeed! The updated pattern is now complete and will be en route to you before week's end. It's much sleeker, and will take better advantage of the titanium's positive attributes

These are the last of the in progress pics. Next will be a couple glamour shots, and thence to testing!
 
design by lorien+mad science= bad ass lol
im curious though were do you get such big pieces of paper to draw your designs on it sucks just using 8.5x11 paper
 
hey thanks man! That's kind of you to say :)
I tape pieces of paper together.

One thing I should get one day is a drafting table, that would be a huge improvement over my current caveman system. I still can't get myself to design on computer. I got CAD but so little time to learn how to use it, time better spent constantly erasing shit.
 
Whoa! I'm away from the forum for a few days and this thread is here with a beast flaunting a Beta Ti blade and hunka copper that would draw in some midnight plumbers :cool:

Can't wait to see the torture test!!!
 
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