Try this source for Titanium...

Kevin Wilkins

Kevin Wilkins

Joined
Oct 7, 1998
Messages
1,513
I recently did a lot a research on Grade V Titanium, 6al4v for folders and came to the concluson that buying new material in Germany was crazy because the prices were starting at about $150 per pound.

Previuosly I've bought Ti from several dealers in the USA but they all have pieces that are not square or are very small etc and this creates a lot of waste.

So I searched the net and found www.titaniumjoe.com I ended up placing an order for almost $1000 with him - not only for myself but together with several others here in Germany. Joe ships via UPS which is expensive but the whole package of almost 50 pounds arrived in a week and the material is all exactly as it was described, at a great price and these are big pieces, some as big as 42 inches. This way I can cut as needed and don't have much waste...

So if you're looking for Ti, give Joe a try... I payed him using PayPal, which was also smooth.
 
Thanks Kevin, I'm saving your link to Joe's TI source. When I learn to make a knife I'll try to learn liner locks.

RL.
 
has prices gone up the last years or did i misinterpret? kevin you got almost 50lb/25kg for 1000$ right. i say those prices sounds very good. so i had a look at titaniumjoe.com and it seems to be alot more expensive these days. i´ve counted and i get it to around 70$/kg = 70x25ish(50lb or so)=1750$ so have the prices gone up? is it possible to negotiate some deals with titanium joe, or??
 
My post is from 2002!

Titanium prices increased 80% in 2005 ALONE.:D

I don't buy from Joe anymore, although I had no problems with him. Anyone you buy titanium from now will be expensive. Titanium is expensive and it will get more expensive before it gets cheaper.
 
80% !! does anybody know why? i figured if i buy thicker dimensions the prices would go down but i was wrong. im not complaining for 70$/kg but it would be nicer if were 35.. what sets the prices supply and demand? how much do you think the prices will go up before it goes down again? is titaniumjoe considered cheap or is there anyplace cheaper. the other places ive heard of is alpha knifesupply and halpern titanium, halpern was similar priced if im not mistaking
 
China, Airbus, Boeing... world demand. The major makers of titanium are sold out for 2006 and are selling 2007 out fast... so they tell me. No one knows how high prices will go. I have plates I bought a good while ago that are worth 3 times what I paid. If I had invested all the money in Ti I once put in stocks... sigh.

Try Chuck Bybee for Ti. Search this forum for him. He is a good, honest guy to do business with.
 
I'm sorry I'm late to this post.

The titanium industry is in chaos right now. The titanium shortage was supposed to be over last month. All the people in the titanium industry I've talked to now expect the shortage to last a minimum of two more years.

There are several factors contributing to the world wide titanium shortage. First factor is China. China is buying all the scrap metal they can find. As China becomes more capitalistic, the demand for products internal to China is rising at an alarming rate. Last year, for the first time, the US was bypassed for buying the largest number of refrigerators and televisions. As the people of China acquire money, the demand will increase even more.

The second factor is the amount of titanium being consumed by non-aerospace production. Historically, aerospace consumed 85% of the titanium produced. The uses in aerospace have gone up, but not as fast as non-aerospace uses. Last year non-aerospace uses were about 35%.

The third and largest factor is aerospace. The Boeing 787 and the Airbus A380 use more titanium than any other commercial airplanes ever built. However, the usage of titanium has changed. Titanium sheet has been replaced with carbon fiber sheet. The majority of the titanium being used is in billet form. The billets are forged or milled into parts. We used to buy lots of scrap titanium sheet from Boeing Surplus. In the past few months, Boeing stopped sending scrap sheet to Surplus. They now return scrap titanium (sheet and chips) to the titanium mills. The mills credit Boeing on their next titanium purchase.

We used to buy titanium for $8 per pound and sell for $15. Our purchase price is now $25 per pound with another price increase coming up in the next few weeks. We used to make an 87% margin on the titanium. Now we are down to a 52% margin.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.
 
thanks for bringing clarity to everything chuck, i would never have imagined the fluctuations in price of titanium, but it all makes sense China wants Ti too.. i got hold of quite a big chunk today, my father gave it to me. around 4.5x4x3 i suppose its and aircraft grade (6al4v maybe) its originally from an airplane manufacturer here, he got it by mistake when buying aluminum. i think that will keep me occupied for a while. anyway thanks for the info :thumbup:
 
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