Titanium

[ATaylor]

I was wondering why if titanium is superior to steel in many ways especially hardness, weight and corrosion resistance. Why is titanium not the go to metal for knife blades. I know its a lot more expensive but why not use it for at least high end knives. I've only seen a handful of knives on the net after I thought about it for the actual blade material. So can any body tell me what the big draw back is if it has all of these great qualities that knife makers and users look for. Thx

 

[Hairlesstwinkie]

Titanium is softer than steel. It's a bad blade material because it cannot hold an edge. Look up Benchmade 970ST. It's a titanium bladed knife. It's a cool concept, but not all that practical.

 

[olybears57]

Titanium is very tough material, and strong, especially for its weight. It isn't however very hard. Hence, bad for a blade.

 

[Grayzer86]

As stated, titanium is quite soft compared to blade steels. This means poor edge retention unless the edge is carbidized, which helps but still isn't practical.