Titanium question

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flbache

Joined
Dec 2, 2004
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229
Is Ti a good metal for a knife blade. You see these ads for "neck" knives made of Ti "for easy wear". I know that it is to soft for gun barrels, and since that is the case it doesnt seem that it would be a good metal for blades. What is ya'lls thoughts on this?

Lee
 
There have been topics about this before, might want to try a search. I think the conclusions were it isn't that great of a material for making knives with.
 
Ti as handle material, yes please; Ti as blade material, no thank you. Just my $0.02
 
A pure titanium blade would be horrible, but a titanium alloy blade can be very good.

Mission use a titanium alloy (T6Al4V), and a lot of people are convinced that this is the way to go when corrosion resistance, non magnetic materials, wear resistance, toughness, and lightness are critical issues.

David
 
Mission makes great knives out of their "beta Titanium". They don't hold a razor edge like steel will, but they are corrosionproof and tough to the point of unbreakable. I have the MPU neck knife I use for food preparation, and I have the new MBK on order, which is the same skeleton handled light utility knife as the MPU, but with a 4" blade. Their larger knives make good survival pieces.

Most other companies using Ti for knives stick to neckers for last resort self-defense or as dive knives, especially in salt water. Boker has a new Cera-Titan material, which I gather is a powder metallurgy blend of titanium and ceramics that holds a ceramic-like edge with titanium toughness.
 
djolney said:
Mission use a titanium alloy (T6Al4V)
Click to expand...

Mission uses Beta C which can be heat treated to Rockwell C in the low 40's. 6AL4V can only be hardened to the low 30's. Beta C makes a much better blade than 6AL4V.
 
Thanks for the correction: the alloy formula jumped into my head, but I'm not sure from where.
 
Yeah, for it's high points Ti is hard to beat. Magnetic signature (lack thereof?), corrosion resistance, weight, etc. I've got a few Ti pieces and it's one of my favorites. .
 
I have been carrying and using a total Ti skeleton necker made by Dan Crotts of the Dozier shop. Ti because it is relatively light in weight while hanging from my neck and corrosion proof against my skin. Oh yeah, there' s the cool factor also. ;) Others may appreciate its non metallic/ non ferrous/ non magnetic/ non conductive properties for special applications. Although my Ti necker is made from 5/32" stock, its high/ deep hollow grind allows for a thin enough edge to cut and slice reliably. This holds true for most any other blade steel. A thick edge will simply never cut as good as a thin one all other factors being equal. My Ti necker has held a good edge thru paper, paracord, corrugated boxes, pencil sharpening, etc. It did require some extra effort on a diamond benchstone to restore its edge back to toothy sharp. I think a polished edge finish will require a few short moments on a belt. A benchstone just won' t cut it. :p

N2
 
I have a Mission MPS that I've used as a dive knife for at least a dozen or so dives. Never once have I washed it off after a dive and never once have I seen a spot of corrosion. Serrations are very sharp and the knife is durable enough for scuba applications. Titanium by Mission is a safe bet.
 
Do a search.

IMO, if you're looking for a diving knife, get something with a ti blade. Other than that, steel will serve you much better.
But titanium does have a certain "gadget" factor and I'm gonna get a small ti fixed blade soon just for the hell of it - but I definitely don't expect it to outperform any of my steel knives.
 
non metallic/ non ferrous/ non magnetic/ non conductive properties
Click to expand...

Ti is very much a metal, by definition non ferrous, not ferro magnetic, conducts electricity as all metals do but is for some reason a fairly bad heat conductor. Otherwise OK (if it really matters :D )

TLM
 
Ti. has no magnatic signature and is used by seal divers in mined waters. Steel will set off the mines and do away with the diver. The point is titanium is a must for the seal divers and if the knives only cut once, they have done their job and can be resharpened and put away until needed again. We make a few Ti. knives here in this shop for customers that think that they need them, but do not think that they are anything but gimmick.
If I am wrong about the mag. signature, some knowledgeable knife nut please set me straight.

Bob D.
 
Hi Bob,

great to see you posting here.

Titanium doesn't have a magnetic signature, but even though it is less likely to be detected by old screening devices than steel (for example), most modern detectors will find a ti blade. So I guess that modern mines can be set off by a ti blade, too. IIRC, an EOD expert once told me that titanium is not safe around mines, but I didn't get to ask why.
 
Detectors that work on the principle of inducing eddy currents (with a changing magnetic field) detect all metal objects and the best do a fair job on carbon fiber.

TLM
 
As of yet, metallurgists have been unable to harden titanium past high 40's R.C. Titanium is extremely wear resistant though, and will never, ever corrode. I agree with HoB in saying that Ti should be left alone for knife handles until they can make a proper blade. But I will have to check out Boker's new "cera-titanium" blade....
 
Say, exactly is the story with that cera-tita blade? I've never really looked into it, but it seems interesting enough...
 
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