Titanium kitchen knife, sharper than scalpel?

The Moose

The Moose

Joined
Mar 13, 2006
Messages
376
So I'm watching Dinner Impossible on the Food Network. At one point in the show he talks to a sou chef and tells her the titanium knife is sharper than any scalpel and really emphasizes how sharp it is... From what i understand titanium does not whole a good edge. So having fairly good knowledge about knives (I'm being modest ;]) this doesn't seem like it can be all THAT sharp... Maybe im rambling... Maybe I'm wrong?... Any insight?
THANKS!
Cheers
Moose
 
moose1132 said:
So I'm watching Dinner Impossible on the Food Network. At one point in the show he talks to a sou chef and tells her the titanium knife is sharper than any scalpel and really emphasizes how sharp it is... From what i understand titanium does not whole a good edge. So having fairly good knowledge about knives (I'm being modest ;]) this doesn't seem like it can be all THAT sharp... Maybe im rambling... Maybe I'm wrong?... Any insight?
THANKS!
Cheers
Moose
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A titanium blade? Maybe the HANDLE was titanium? Or it was like...a brand or something? From what I know titanium doesn't make a very good blade.
 
Even the best Titanium alloys don't get anywhere near as hard as your average steel types. That said, you mention nothing about edge retention, only sharpness. I don't know if the microstructure of Titanium is any finer than that of steel, but chances are this TV host/chef was mulled over pretty good by a salesman and he took the bait without doing any research for himself.

Normally the benefits of Titanium in a knife are that it is non-magnetic and doesn't rust. Normal stainless steel usually resists rust well enough for the kitchen, and I don't think he's going to try disarming land mines with his knife either. I don't see any benefit to using Ti.
 
Joshua J. said:
Even the best Titanium alloys don't get anywhere near as hard as your average steel types. That said, you mention nothing about edge retention, only sharpness. I don't know if the microstructure of Titanium is any finer than that of steel, but chances are this TV host/chef was mulled over pretty good by a salesman and he took the bait without doing any research for himself.

Normally the benefits of Titanium in a knife are that it is non-magnetic and doesn't rust. Normal stainless steel usually resists rust well enough for the kitchen, and I don't think he's going to try disarming land mines with his knife either. I don't see any benefit to using Ti.
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I would think a chef would be able to tell if his knife wasn't holding an edge.
 
I laughed when he said that, "You be very careful, these are titanium knives, sharper than any scalpel!" haha
 
Certainly, they're titanium coated. I've discussed this many times in the past (do a search if you're that interested), but the public thinks, due to movies and advertising, way to highly of titanium as a blade. So it behooves certain advertisers to perpetuate and exploit this.

For example, there's a razor out there (Shick Quattro, I think) that touts its titanium blades. Nowhere in the commercial do they mention that they're steel coated with titanium (nitride, I assume). Just something like "4 blades with the power of titanium". I had to explain this to a guy at work (pretty much verbatim what I've said here in the past).

I have to wonder though, what good, other than aesthetics (pretty colors) does a titanium coating do for a ceramic blade?
 
Planterz said:
Certainly, they're titanium coated. I've discussed this many times in the past (do a search if you're that interested), but the public thinks, due to movies and advertising, way to highly of titanium as a blade. So it behooves certain advertisers to perpetuate and exploit this.

For example, there's a razor out there (Shick Quattro, I think) that touts its titanium blades. Nowhere in the commercial do they mention that they're steel coated with titanium (nitride, I assume). Just something like "4 blades with the power of titanium". I had to explain this to a guy at work (pretty much verbatim what I've said here in the past).

I have to wonder though, what good, other than aesthetics (pretty colors) does a titanium coating do for a ceramic blade?
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Marketing. Marketing and aesthetics. On a ceramic knife, wear isn't going to be improved by metal, especially not titanium.
 
Titanium nitride or other similar coatings. ... Never get your info from TV or Wikipedia ,they have proven they are not reliable sources !!
 
enderwiggin said:
Too bad... I clicked on that link just to get some more info about the falsified resume!
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Google it and you will find the reason that Chef Robert Irvine is no longer making new shows and is being replaced by Chef Michael Symon.
 
i googled it
Irvine admitted to spicing up a resume that included a British knighthood, ownership of a castle in Scotland, friendship with Prince Charles and cooking for four United States presidents.
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:eek:
hahahaha!!

that is some serious spicing up!
 
Did he say whether it was sharper than the edge--or the back of the scalpel?
Greg
 
Moose, Moose, Moose, your knife enthusiasm is infectious but you must develop as much love for researching ideas as you have for typing questions. I have a custom made anodized Titanium necker that is one of the most beautiful metal thingies on earth but besides slicing fine imported cheese or opening mail addressed to 'Current Resident' I wouldn't depend on it in a serious hard work or survival situation. I do love my TiCard too since it passes through the metal detector at the courthouse and X-ray imprints just like a credit card. Try this, for every 2 questions you pose on the forums find one interesting 'fact' or picture of an interesting blade design you have some input on to share with us. Never lose your curiosity but temper it with pithy banter or little known knife oriented tidbits.
 
many things are sharper than a scalpel. Scalpel are one time use, and the blade gets thrown away.
 
moose1132 said:
So I'm watching Dinner Impossible on the Food Network. At one point in the show he talks to a sou chef and tells her the titanium knife is sharper than any scalpel and really emphasizes how sharp it is... From what i understand titanium does not whole a good edge. So having fairly good knowledge about knives (I'm being modest ;]) this doesn't seem like it can be all THAT sharp... Maybe im rambling... Maybe I'm wrong?... Any insight?
THANKS!
Cheers
Moose
Click to expand...

Funny. I thought scalpels were originally made with 1095 or something similar.

I'll tell you what's scary sharp in the kitchen - ceramic.
 
May have been a Boker 'Cera-titan' (a titanium/ceramic composite) kitchen knife. This type blade is very sharp and holds it's edge well is very sharp (I own their Gamma small folder with this blade material).
 
MSgt said:
May have been a Boker 'Cera-titan' (a titanium/ceramic composite) kitchen knife. This type blade is very sharp and holds it's edge well is very sharp (I own their Gamma small folder with this blade material).
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I also have a Boker Kitchen knife made from "Sintered Titanium Carbide" and it is very sharp and holds an edge relatively well. It is not as sharp as the ceramic knives I have or the laminated VG-10 which is my favorite.

Before you guys completely discount the use of Titanium in knives you should look up Mission Knives. They are very good.
 
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