Titanium fittings???

Phil Dwyer

Phil Dwyer

Joined
Feb 28, 2006
Messages
3,494
Hi Friends,

I'm trying to put together a set of a pair of hunting knives for my Dad, who is having his second hip replaced next month. I'd like to use some of the Ti-6AL-V4 titanium I got from JT for the knive's hardware. Searching this forum hasn't turned up much in the way of guidance.

Heat-anodize------- http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=298848
Flame Anodizing ---- http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=295307
Titanium knife ------ http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=432083
Remove Stuck Tap - http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=568919

Anyone have any suggestions? My first stumbling block seems will be the guard-blade/shoulder interface. I understand Ti won't solder, nor epoxy (JB weld) well. I was kind of hoping to do the guards and butt caps in Ti. The handles are of white tail antler from a 12 pt buck he shot in 1959 (when I was 2.)

Anyway, any advice or referrals would be appreciated.

Thanks, Phil
.
 

Attachments

  • DadsDeer.jpg
    DadsDeer.jpg
    37.2 KB · Views: 69
Last edited:
Hi Phyl,

I don't have any advice on working titanium, but I want to wish your father luck with his up coming surgery. 21st century medicine does great work with human/bionic :eek: replacement parts now adays.
 
I would imagine you could do a press-fit, no-solder guard and, if the stock's thick enough, you could drill and tap it to do a hidden tang with a screw-on butt cap.
 
Phil, I wish your dad well with his surgery. The second hip was quite a bit easier for me because I knew what to expect and wasn't freaked out so much by it all. I hope he finds it that way, too.
The surgery is so much more "friendly" now than when I had mine done 12 years ago, my sister was walking with a cane inside of a week. (It was two months before I was allowed to put much weight on mine.)

As for the Ti, use very sharp belts and enjoy the light show. It'll be a bugger of a project. Maintain your patience!
 
sparks UV
get a light tint UV shade i have a cheap set from a welding store not welding power but it cuts the bad off

yep keep it cool and take your time
 
Farmer Phyl said:
Hi Friends,
Anyone have any suggestions? My first stumbling block seems will be the guard-blade/shoulder interface. I understand Ti won't solder, nor epoxy (JB weld) well. I was kind of hoping to do the guards and butt caps in Ti. The handles are of white tail antler from a 12 pt buck he shot in 1959 (when I was 2.)

Anyway, any advice or referrals would be appreciated.

Thanks, Phil
.
Click to expand...


Unless you have a hydrogen torch for soldering, the best way to attach the guard may be glass bedding it and using takedown construction. It adds a few hours to the job but is super tight. You could put a sheet of softer spacer material like brass or aluminum between the shoulders and the guard and the compression of tightening the nut should seal like a metal gasket.
 
I vote visable peened copper pin that would be a good contrast especially if you use copper handle spacers/liners
 
I've make a number of pieces with Ti fittings..... first thing, do not try to "swedge" fit a Ti guard in place like you would with most other guard materials. It will just shave down the tang and really mess up the joint of guard/blade area.

What I normally do when using Ti for a guard is place a small, thin plate of another type of material, like Nickel silver, in front of the guard. You can swedge this material to fit, then using JB weld or accra-glass, you can seal the guard (put petroleum jelly on the outside of the plate/guard in case you have any filler material that gets out on on the surface...it will easily pop off with a sharpened brass rod or a toothpick) and the plate in front of the guard will help hide any imperfections in the fit. (even after all these years of knifemaking, I still don't know what to call that little plate :))
 
I just wanted to say that's a great photo...good luck with your thingamajigagasket...
 
Ed Caffrey said:
... (even after all these years of knifemaking, I still don't know what to call that little plate :))
Click to expand...

I think in a lot of cases, it could simply be called a "cheater" to hide a poorly fit guard. ;)
That said, for this and artistic purposes it certainly has it's place.
 
just take your time and you might be shocked at how it ends up
BTW brushing or stippling the face makes for a less easy to mess up front
oo and texture is fun to play with
 

Attachments

  • DSC05884sm.jpg
    DSC05884sm.jpg
    53.4 KB · Views: 62
Ed,
On any Japanese blade the plate thingy is called a seppa. It means "decorative washer or spacer". Interestingly, in Finnish, seppa means "hammer", referring to a blacksmith. My tag is shortened from Seppo Ilmarinen, "The Eternal Hammerer", blacksmith and inventor (from the kalevala).

Anyway, seppa is what I call it on any knife I use it on. It works well with big bowie guards. The plate looks especially nice when it is diamond shaped. As said, it can cover a lot of mis-filed guard slots.
Stacy
 
Thanks for the kind thoughts for my Dad. They mean a lot!

It sounds like a fascia sheet for the guard might be the way to go. I actually had been thinking of doing this knife with copper prior to getting a hold of some of JT's Ti. Maybe, as JS suggests, I can work with both. I wasn't thinking of doing a take down, but am planning on a screw on butt cap.

Band saw cutting has sure been slow. Snapped two blades. I'm using a (new to me) used MSC band saw. I think I need to learn how to set the guides and make sure its all configured right. About four or five hours of cutting (intermittently, as the motor gets hot) and I'm just about three quarters of the way through a 4 inch deep cut by 2 inches wide.

To tell you the truth, I'm kind of eager to heat some of this stuff up and forge on it a bit. I met a guy at the CBA Spring Conference who forges hammers and tongs out of TI. He had dozens of them at the tailgate section of the conference. They were way cool. He also did two half day demos making tongs and hammers, but out of steel.

Anyway, thanks for your suggestions (and kind words for my Pop) and if you think of anything else let me know.

All the best, Phil
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top