What makes a better liner steel or titanium?

Dennis,
This is my take. Titanium seems to stick a bit better due to the galling factor. I really prefer steel( hardened ) because of the extra weight and wear factor. Think I am correct in assuming that hardened steel wears better than titanium. BTW I have a steel liner 4" EDC on order from Darrel. Just my thoughts. Check the mail!

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Art Sigmon
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
Php. 4:13

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword"
Heb. 4:12
 
I used to think titanium . . . like my AFCK or my EDI Genesis I. BUT you sacrifice alot of "wearability" and stiffness to get weight reduction. If you are going to have a liner lock you sure cannot beat the feel of the MT LCC with steel liners. Sure it is heavy but the strength is awesome . . . make mine steel for a liner lock!
 
IMHO, SS makes a more durable liner. Ti is more attractive from a weight point of view, but will not wear as well. However, the "galling" or "sticking" effect of Ti might be considered beneficial in a liner lock knife.

It can be hard to figure it out.

Dick
 
I agree. Stainless liners, especially 410 or 420 like the new Camillus EDC employs will last a lot longer if the geometry of the blade tang and liner bar are right. In my personal experience, my BM Leopard with 410 stainless liners has lasted repeated abusive openings for 4 years vs. my M2 AFCK with the ti has worn 3/4 the way across. Just my .01.

Professor.
 
Just my take:

With titanium you get a springier liner, light weight, and super corrosion resistance. If I were working in harsh environments (hot humid weather, seawater) I like titanium since I won't have to take the thing apart every day to clean the innards.

With stainless steel you get better wear resistance which means a longer lifespan. Personally i prefer ss for the toughness factor even if I have to take care of pitting.

Not too sure about the "galling" effect of titanium - I have folders with both ti & ss liners and haven't noticed much difference. FWIW, I think the major factor in a good liner lock is the precision and the angle of the lock / blade fitting rather than the material.

Just my 2 cents*
Red

* which is probably worthless given the current depreciated state of Malaysian currency
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"Praise not the day until evening has come;a sword until it is tried; ice until it has been crossed; beer until it has been drunk" - Viking proverb
 
Although SS would be better in the wear resistance department I prefer the light weight of titanium. Since I own a lot of knives and will no doubt own many more, most of my pieces will not see enough use to really make this a problem. Besides, you can't color SS like you can titanium.

Bummer about your hand Dennis!

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Peter Atwood

email: fountainman@hotmail.com
 
Strider uses Ti liners on his folders. I called the Strider guys earlier this week and he told me that the lock was so strong that a SWAT (or something like that) officer used his folder to pry a door open and actually pried out the door frame!!! He went on to say that when they "brutalized" the folders, the blade pivot broke before the lock did.
Now it may be that Strider uses thick liners, but I'm sold on Ti.

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Spydies... Bet you can't buy just one.
 
I forgot the fact that titanium has the best "memory" of all. It will take thousands of springs and still move over to the same place each and every time. UNLESS there is a lot of tension and then the spring will move across the face of the blade tang. Agree with Redvenom asI think the construction is the most important aspect of all.

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Art Sigmon
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
Php. 4:13

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword"
Heb. 4:12
 
It depends on the knife/maker and the design of the knife. My Terzuola folders use Ti liners and they are rock solid and haven't worn appreciably. I have an EDC with stainless liners that has a perfect lock up. My stainless Starmate is rock solid and my Ti/Stellite Carson M16 is perfect. I've seen OLDER Spydercos, Benchmades, CRKTs, Emersons, and even some customs fold like slip joints with minor pressure on the spine (i.e., folding with one hand). Most of these were due to poor execution of the design and NOT due to the materials.

I --->THINK<--- there is a grade of Ti that isn't very good for liners that early knives used to have incorporated into their design, but I'll leave that for the metallurgists to answer
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Chris
 
The stainless liner on my MT LCC is the best liner I've ever seen on a production knife.

Weight is not an issue because the liner is skeletonized to save weight. I hate galling, liner should rely on precision fit for strength, not stickiness.

IMHO, the biggest problem with liner locks is that the liner wear with time and you get blade play. A soft ti liner does not wear well against hardened ATS-34 steel, and should not be used unless you wnat disposable knives. My LCC has zero play after a year of use. I've never seen this happen with a ti liner knife.
 
Reading all of these interesting posts made me think.
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It should be possible to make one half of the liner in steel, the part where the blade and pivot is. The other half with the linerlock could be made of Ti. That way you should be able to get a bit of both worlds.

Uh, just a thought.

/Colinz
 
I was not all that impressed with the Ti liners on my old AFCK. I think if they had been a little thicker and made from SS as on my 710, then it would have fixed most of the problems with this model of knife. My 812 has the same problems with a SS liner, but not half so bad as the 800 had.

Ti is fancey, expensive and not really neaded IMHO. It is light, but on a physical size based equasion steel beats it every time for rigidity and strength. More heavy though...

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Wayne.
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!
 
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