Titanium Custom Knives?

BePrepared

BePrepared

Joined
Aug 26, 2010
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I've seen several here on Bladeforums, and i don't know what to think about them

are they superior to good quality steel in any real way? Is it possible to sharpen them yourself?

i guess the real question is, why would i want one?
 
LIghtness, no corrosion, non-magnetic. A diver working on mines might want one.
Others may have carbide dust impregnated on the actual edge. Those seem like they are more of a utility blade, neckers and such.
Mostly, a plain titanium blade would be not easy to sharpen, I've never tried, but it's hard stuff.
 
+1 on what foxx said. as for sharpening, zaph1 made a titanium knife and sent it to me for sharpening. i was able to get it shaving sharp but it did take a few minutes.
 
foxx said:
LIghtness, no corrosion, non-magnetic. A diver working on mines might want one.
Others may have carbide dust impregnated on the actual edge. Those seem like they are more of a utility blade, neckers and such.
Mostly, a plain titanium blade would be not easy to sharpen, I've never tried, but it's hard stuff.
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Actually the problem is that it's not hard, it's pretty soft. Titanium is easy to sharpen but loses an edge rather quickly. Putting a carbide edge on the blade gets rid of that problem and actually makes for quite a good performing knife. I have a few Warren Thomas knives with carbide edged Ti blades and they work very well.
 
I have 3 titanium knives from Mission.


First I bought the MPK 10 to use as a dive knife. But it's too large, too thick, "too much" to use for recreational diving. So this is my beater knife when I'm on the woods. I needed to reprofile the edge a bit because it was too obtuse. Then I got the folder and the MPD. I use the MPD as a dive knife, it's just perfect for that. The folder is too big for my EDC needs, it even exceeds the legal length (10 cm).
It's really really hard to sharpen these things, you have to use diamond sharpeners and take a long time to reach results.
Real benefits? Corrosion resistance for diving is the best one. Titanium is softer than steel, but I haven't found real problems with that.
The only problem I find is €€€€€€€€$$$$$$$$$$$$$
 
Haze said:
Titanium is easy to sharpen but loses an edge rather quickly.
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Completely disagree. Very VERY difficult to sharpen (for me at least...) The edge isn't that great, but isn't that soft that you feel it's melting or disappearing with use...
Maybe we used different kinds of titanium, I just know Mission's "Beta Titanium"...
 
I would not bother with it.

It's a gimmicky-kitschy item more than anything else.

Buy yourself and nice steel blade and be happy :)

Tostig
 
tonijedi said:
Completely disagree. Very VERY difficult to sharpen (for me at least...) The edge isn't that great, but isn't that soft that you feel it's melting or disappearing with use...
Maybe we used different kinds of titanium, I just know Mission's "Beta Titanium"...
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I can only speak of my own experiences with it of course. I have been working with titanuim for a quite a while now and I'm quite familiour with it. I have made several knives from Ti and have modded many a knife with titanium. When sharpening a Ti blade I use diamond stones to start with and strop the blade to polish the edge like one would with any normal steel blade. I can't say I have ever had much of a problem with it to be honest. I usually use 6AL4V Ti alloy, as do most people it seems. I have used unknown Ti alloys as well with no problems, other than it's just not as hard as steel so is easy to dent.
 
Tostig said:
I would not bother with it.

It's a gimmicky-kitschy item more than anything else.

Buy yourself and nice steel blade and be happy :)

Tostig
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That says YOU :p

For those who don't go under sea level, yeah ok...

There's another thread going on about steels... do you need those extra-nice-ultra steels to live your life? ;) Same with titanium, or not... depends on your uses.
 
Haze said:
[...] other than it's just not as hard as steel so is easy to dent.
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Yes it's true, you have to be careful with rocks and hard stuff when using it. I've compared my titanium knife with a Falkkniven A1 (laminated VG-10) and Ti kept a better edge when cutting dirty ropes (picked on the debris of a beach). :thumbup:

Besides that (proper) steel performs better on normal cutting tasks.
 
The only problem with this discussion is we are not being specific about the Ti alloy. When we speak of steel, we usually are more specific, and talk about the heat treat.
I don't own Ti knives, but my Ti Spork is thin, and flexable, my Ti alloy bottle openers seem hard and don't even get a scratch from opening bottles. My mini prybar made of 6AL4V, don't the Ti knives use various alloys?
Maybe we just need to clarify on the specific alloy, not just "Titanium".
I'm no expert, so what do I know?
 
I don't think you can make any good use of pure Ti, preatty much all commercially available titanium is some form of alloy.

The most versitle and widely used is class 5 6AL4V.

I personally avoid titanium knives whenever possible, wouldn't try to cut a branch with one neddless to say about prying or other hard uses...

Currently have 2 Ti knives in my possession and they're for pure EDC purposes(light weight) so they get carried but never used...

Ti is a great metal for aerospace tech but not so much as a knife.

A lot of folks tend to get sucked into the space age and aeropsce background of Ti but it's good for one thing doesn't mean it's good for everything...
 
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Titanium alloys are quite diverse. For basic knife blade applications I look at it in 3 catagories. Commercially pure, no alloying elements, very soft but tough. Then the most common in the knife making field, 6al4v. It is a bit harder can be heat treated and carbide edge can be added to help with edge life. Then there is Beta titanium. Very hard to get. You will almost never find a scrap piece anywhere. It is ordered in lots and whatever scrap is left generally goes back to the manufacturer because it is not cheap. Beta Ti is a harder alloy and takes a good edge and holds it fairly well.

In my opinion, Ti blades are best for specific applications. If you need a non magnetic blade or work in a corrosive environment or require light weight. I make Ti blades for self defense, LEO and military back up weapons.

Once you get the knack, Ti can take a wicked sharp edge! So far, the best edges on a Ti blades I have come across are made by Pat Crawford. Whenever you work with Ti you need to use SHARP tools.
 
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"Alpha" "Alpha-Beta" and "Beta" aren't used to refer to specific titanium alloys as such. They are used to (put simply) describe the structure of the metal.
 
I make 6al4v titanium knives and like any knife should be, they are made for a purpose and serve it well. Like any commonly used knife metal, it has its ups and downs. They aren't known for their edge holding ability but have a lot of benefits as well. Here are a couple of the higher points of titanium knives:

They are ultra light, I use .090, it is unbelievably strong and flexible yet a 6" knife only weighs around an ounce. You could carry it anywhere without weight being an issue.

Titanium doesn't rust or corrode, it is maintainence free as far as that goes.

They are non ferrous and non magnetic.
 
Dumb ? alert... If a knife blade was waterjet cut from a flat piece of 6al4v, is a heat treatment process needed for the Titanium, like would be needed for a steel blade?
 
I had Reese Weiland make me a .160" Ti fixed blade version of his Nighthawk folder. It is currently with John Mitchell getting a carbide edge.

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My main kitchen (chef) knife right now is a Boker Cera Titan Santoku with a 7" blade. It holds an edge about 6 times longer than my best steel kitchen knives. The alloy is given wear resistance with included carbides (probably TiC). Silver is added to reduce brittleness. I am quite impressed by this material. Too bad Boker discontinued it. These knives can be put away wet. They can be stored in acid. The dishwasher can only degrade the handle. The only "drawback", it won't stick to a magnetic rack.
 
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