Titanium blades ??????

Joined
Jan 31, 2001
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What are the advantages / disadvantages to having a titanium blade?

Sharpening?
Edge retention?
Any other qualities?
 
Greeting's First let me say that i thought about the idea of a Titanium Blade Some time ago , i Checked with one of the ''Local Professional Heat Treat Shop's here in ''Knife Central'' who Informed Me to the ''Good / Bad of a Titanium Blade The Major Drawback is a Very Low Rockwell Max of about 45 -50 Aside from that the wear resistance / All other aspect's seem Ok !! I Wont use any Blade that I Know has such a low RC !! Just Me !! The Frequent Sharpening would Probably be Un Bearable to any ''Real Knife User'' Just My Thought's
 
Pinoy Knife´s right, titanium blades offer very low levels of Rockwell hardness, which means they don´t hold an edge well. Even simple 420 steel will outperform Titanium regarding edge retention.

Titanium will not rust, is anti-magnetic (two things that are improtant for military dive knives) and it is light-weight.

But Titanium blades don´t seem to take a sharp edge easily.
 
Titanium is also very, very tough. You could pry and do other hard activities with a titanium blade that you couldn't with a steel blade.

I'd recommend going to Mission's forum here on bladeforums and doing searches on edge retention and sharpening. I wouldn't go on rockwell harness alone to make an opinion on edge retention and such. IIRC, Talonite's main component Rockwells to a low number too, though the carbides in it are extremely high. I recall an article in Tac Knives where Michael Janich reviewed Mission's folder, and I *think* he said the blade's edge retention was respectible.

Good luck finding the info you want!
 
And some makers of ti blades, Warren Thomas for example, fuse a thin slurry of tungston carbide "grains" to the immediate edge. This seems to create a harder and more aggressive aspect to the relatively soft edge.

Emerson has offered ti blades with this edge modification also, 'tho I'm not sure if he does it himself, or sends them off.

Note: With titanium though - as stated earlier - "softness" does not necessarily mean there is a lack of "toughness".
 
Yes, ti will not hold an edge very long but long enough to be useful. It is very easy to sharpen though and WILL take a razor edge, (from personal experience), and as stated, is tough! I believe an all ti knife makes the perfect neck knife. Impervious to sweat, (salt), and it's incredible lightness has to be experienced to believe. I have one that Pat Crawford made up a couple of years ago and it is the end all, (to me), as far as neckers and emergency utility/defensive knives go.
 
Hi Gene. Howzit it going down there in Dunsmuir?:)

I agree with you re ti neck knives. Until recently, I had one myself by WT (all ti), and presented a pink carbon fiber/ti laminated neck kozuka - also by WT - to my daughter Allison when she went up to Eugene to college.

She would wear it jogging and bicycling, and swears she does not even notice it.:cool:

AL
 
Hello my friend! The weather's fabulous! 80-90 degrees and the fishing and kayaking are great! Went up to La Pine in Central Oregon and spent a week there at the beginning of this month. My best friend just bought an acre of land up there. Wonderful area and the kayaking was fabulous! Those Illinois Valley fires are a bummer though.

That's neat doing that for your daughter, especially in PINK CF! Yes indeed, people can't believe how unbelievably light a ti necker, (or ANY all ti knife), is until they try one!
 
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