titanium sword as promised

Thanks William. Very much...
I have a piece of rebar standing by. :D
That's a good question about the carbide coming off. Someone do a test.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Nice work! I wonder how Ti would work if you made a heavily tip-weighted design to give it sufficient cutting power due to mass distribution but keeping the actual total weight down?
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I note that the curve is very mild as far as katanas go, and it occurs to me that this may be the only real way to make swords out of Ti. Heavy curves favor greater mass, adding more to cutting/chopping than is lost from the slower cut/chop as a result of that greater mass. I don't expect we'll see much machete-action in Ti but for swords and knives I think Ti has a lot of promise. The real question for swords is how well it handles zo-.... er flesh & bone.

That video is money though. This sword's no joke. Looking forward to the rebar test.
 
I kinda hope he was joking about the rebar!

This one was just crazy light. I have some thicker 6-4 coming which will give a little more mass and more stiffness that will suit my cutting style (or lack thereof) better.

Sometimes I bring home fresh roadkill for testing (yeah gross, just keep mouth closed while cutting) and cutting a fresh deer in half is way easier than the free-hanging 3" rope.
 
Thanks BBEG. Are you saying a Ti sword with more curve would cut better?
I should have my Tikat this week. Can't wait.
I WAS kidding about the rebar. I'm not that crazy.
Rolf
 
Nah, other way around. I think that Ti is too light for a curved blade. Assuming the shapes were identical, a chopper made of Ti will never cut as well as a chopper made of steel. However, making the Ti blade thicker like Will suggested should help. I'd like to see a nice Ti chopper machete or camp knife made just to see if it can replace a nice steel one. I doubt it will, but any opportunity to lighten the pack load is worth looking into for me.

Will, does the 3" rope simulate bone well enough in testing? That's the part that worried me most about a Ti blade. It would pretty awesome if so.
 
Thanks BBEG.
I mainly got this katana for the cool factor and for William's quality work but now I know this katana can deliver!
I was sold on Ti as a "good" knife blade when I got my first Ti Mission MPT. That knife was razor sharp and tough!
Rolf
 
BBEG said:
Will, does the 3" rope simulate bone well enough in testing? That's the part that worried me most about a Ti blade. It would pretty awesome if so.
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I have the same concerns but I know Rolf will be happy with totally incapacitating zombies even if he can't sever the undead femurs! The deer I cut, I cut through vertebra and ribs; with a good cut you can barely feel the bones (first time I thought I had missed) but I have not cut the legs. The rope won't simulate a femur or the wicked hard shinbone... seems like I need some more roadkills here.

I originally bought Ti to make a bush cleaver (now I hoard the stuff lol)... the wide blade chops well (better than hatchets or kukri in our testing) and a light cleaver would fit on my pack nicely.

Ti never has the strength of blade steel at the hardnesses I run so it can't replace it. It's different metal entirely... however it IS as strong as many machete or inexpensive kitchen knives which are purchased by the million and used without complaint worldwide.
 
So something like a Condor Warlock would work well in Ti? A wider belly, nice convex swell, thicker spine, in the 12-15" range? A Ti golok or gently-curved kukri maybe? If you can baton it well then it would make an awesome all-around camp knife and save a lot of weight on a pack.

Sir, I do not believe I make enough money for us to have this conversation. :p
 
Wow! I just saw this! A real-deal Ti sword!

I just read about the bit about the thickness adding to the mass for chopping power. Can I suggest a M-1909 bolo machete pattern? Great belly for mass.

USM1910Bolo290Machete.JPG


HK3532.jpg
 
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Thanks untamed and great idea!
As I said, we will be seeing more Ti blades popping up.Ti has made it's place in the knife world.
 
Rolf congrats on a very interesting acquisition

William good on you for trying new things

One suggestion ..... Use a tripod to hold the camera not a person

If that blade would break etc you don't know where it is going
 
Damn, you Rolf, that blade is a beast, to the maker. You sir are a craftsman, that is outstanding workmanship, outstanding. Kudos to you both.

Rolf, you really have yourself something there, that is a serious piece of technology at work right there, wow, NICE.
 
BBEG said:
Nah, other way around. I think that Ti is too light for a curved blade. Assuming the shapes were identical, a chopper made of Ti will never cut as well as a chopper made of steel. However, making the Ti blade thicker like Will suggested should help. I'd like to see a nice Ti chopper machete or camp knife made just to see if it can replace a nice steel one. I doubt it will, but any opportunity to lighten the pack load is worth looking into for me.

Will, does the 3" rope simulate bone well enough in testing? That's the part that worried me most about a Ti blade. It would pretty awesome if so.
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Only make the blade as thick as is necessary for it to be sufficiently durable. Otherwise make the blade WIDER to add mass. This keeps the sectional volume low so less energy is lost during the cut due to matter displacement.
 
Great advice, FTB. ^ Thanks.
Gang- I have to say that I am more than pleased with my Tikat. The grinds are perfect and the Field-Grade and Northern Frost finish not only look good but will hold up as the sword is used. The Northern Frost is on the backside of the blade. The sword is so light, it feels like a deadly feather in my hand. The Holstex scabbard is very cool too. It can be disassembled for cleaning.
You know about me and pix so I apologize but I'm sure you can see with the existing pix that this is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind katana.
Thank you William.
 
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