Woods Bladeworks TiTAN PRE-ORDER

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Nick, I seldom get excited over something that is in the process or a surprise. But your pics have me itching to get my Titan!
And Will, your attention to detail with things like the wax seals, botique grade packaging and what looks like one very nice little gentlemans manicure tool!!!!
So I am oh so ready to see my #12 rocking my Post Box :-)>
 
Received mine today. This thing is a monster! I knew it was huge but still wasn't prepared for this pocket sword. Pictures and video just don't adequately prepare one for the shear awesome size of these!
 
Just have an Iphone with a dirty lens and bad florescent light. Here are some size comparison shots.
Zero Tolerance 0560
TiTan_vs_0560.jpg

Kershaw Leek and random common items for scale
TiTan_vs_Leek.jpg
 
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So jealous right now!!!! Congrats to the two so far I have seen received their TiTAN's. I like that config. Beadblast frame with stonewashed blade? I'm excited to see what my stonewashed frame/brushed blade will look like together and all of the other configurations :)
I also have a plan for a great size comparison shot... Woods TiTAN vs. Curtiss Nano :eek:
 
Before I complain, I just want to say that I really love this knife. I think it is excellent and I realize I am being nitpicky.
The blade profile on these is great. I love the harpoon style. The grind lines are nearly perfect and good for a hand ground blade.

The handle shape mirrors the blade with a raise at the butt end.
The jimping on the butt end makes for a very nice ice-pick hold. The lockbar cutout is nice and smooth. (It looks unfinished
with lots of mill marks on my Zero Tolerance knives). The detent drill through has been chamfered rather than just a straight
hole. I think that looks nice, others may prefer the straight hole that won't collect pocket lint but no one is going to pocket
carry this beast. The stand-offs are ridged which adds a bit of style over a straight tube and the polish looks nice against my
gray beadblasted titanium.

For most people these issues probably won't bother them at all, for others it may bother them a lot.

Now for the gripes and moans.
Blade shows lots and lots of grind lines, very little stonewash/tumble pattern. It actually isn't that bad and gives it sort of a
beat up tool look. With the plain bead blast finish I chose it kind of adds some character making it a large tool knife
not a fancy custom just to display. I think I'd rather have had it stonewashed a bit longer though to hide some of the lines.
Grind_lines.jpg


The pivot isn't totally flush. Very minor.
Protruding_Pivot.jpg


Handle finish was done before adjusting the lockup and grinding a bit? The stop pin pockets are unfinished. Again, minor.
Unblasted_Stoppin.jpg


The detent isn't super strong. It holds well enough that the blade won't fall out without a little work. I think it has to be somewhat loose or else you wouldn't be able to open this beast of a blade! There is just a lot of mass there to hold in so Will found a nice middle ground I think. The pocket clip doesn't flex any and it's very difficult to get it on a pocket.. but really, who is going to carry these clipped to a pocket! On my somewhat thick Carharrt's it's a bit difficult though and I don't see anyone pocketing this in a pair of Dockers! The lock bar also sticks a lot and doesn't appear to be carbidized. I would have liked to have seen that to keep it from wearing quickly and to help the stickiness.

I'd give these a 9 out of 10. For comparison, I'd rate the production 0560 that has been my EDC for 6 months as a 9 out of 10 as well. For a knife close in size, I'd rate my titanium liner lock Lone Wolf Harsey Ranger as an 8.5 and a 9 for even more limited micarta handled version that has slightly better fit and finish. I'm very picky. There is absolutely nothing else like these out there on the market and Will has done an AMAZING job with these for a first run, first folder design. If you want a massive folder with quality materials these just can't be beat.
 
From what I recall, Will said that he carbidized both the lockbar face and the stop pin pockets. From your picture it would appear that the stop pin pockets are indeed carbidized which is why it doesn't appear to have the same beadblast finish as the rest of the handle. I may be 100% wrong, I didn't want to go page by page through the WiP thread and this thread to see what was said.
 
That makes MUCH more sense. It didn't look like raw titanium and does look like carbidizing. The lockbar face looks like raw titanium though from what I can see, but without pulling it apart and bending the lockbar over to have a peek I can't tell for sure. Nevermind, I took a flashlight to it. It looks like a rough surface, which indicates it probably is carbidized! I just need to put some graphite on there to help with the stickiness until it breaks in.

I'd like to change my rating from a 9 to a 9.5 then :) Making this the best knife I've ever held by quite a bit. The lock-up, carbidized or not, on these is very well tuned. Mine locks up at about 5%! Nice and early but just enough that you don't have to worry about it being not enough! It is currently very hard to unlock if I really throw the blade out and requires two hands and some muscle. Once it breaks in a bit I expect it to be PERFECT! There should be a warning though "Do not operate around overhead power lines" because this thing is f-ing HUGE!
 
It almost looks as though the lock face of the blade itself is carbidized...just going off of that picture of the stop pin pockets...it almost has that same texture-y rough sort of appearance. Again, I may be 100% wrong here. I'm sure Will will set us all straight :)
 
Update! So I have been carrying this behemoth around all day and I have been noticing that after walking around for a little while with it in my pocket. The blade seems to get stuck closed to the point where it takes 2 hands to open it. After I open it, it goes back to being super smooth. Hopefully once the knife breaks in it will go away
 
Ramiel said:
It almost looks as though the lock face of the blade itself is carbidized...just going off of that picture of the stop pin pockets...it almost has that same texture-y rough sort of appearance. Again, I may be 100% wrong here. I'm sure Will will set us all straight :)
Click to expand...
Could be, but that wouldn't make sense. The titanium is soft and you'd want to carbidize the lockbar's face, not the blade's lock face. I guess you could do both? I don't know. I've never heard of anyone doing both and having a carbide to carbide lock interface. I'm certainly no expert though.

I bent the lockbar out as far as I felt comfortable and it sure looks like the lockbar face is carbidized from what I can see.

I can't stop playing with this thing.. Luckily most of my day is consisting of waiting for server updates to download!

Here is a shot of the plunge line. The grind isn't perfect, but is pretty good for a hand grind.
TiTan_Plungeline.jpg
 
nickortizzle1035 said:
UThe blade seems to get stuck closed to the point where it takes 2 hands to open it.
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I took a pencil and put some graphite on the blade side face and while it still sticks a bit it no longer requires muscling it to open. I can usually one-hand unlock it now. Normally I'd do that graphite trick to the lockbar face but Will did such a great job and the gap around the lockbar is nice and small that I can't get in there with a pencil.

Let me say it again, damn these are nice!
 
How sharp did the knives arrive, could you cut phone book paper? Are they easy to flip without any wrist action? They look great can't wait for mine.
 
OK so let me clear up the questions. Yes I carbidize ALL surfaces that contact each other. The lockup of the TiTAN involves 3 metals Stainless 416, 3V semi-stainless, and 6AL4V Titanium. Each of these have different hardness ratings. The 3V is 61rc, the 416 is best guess 50-51rc, and the Titanium is 36rc (flame anodizing raises this to around 43-45rc). To make sure that all contact surfaces wear as evenly as possible during the "break in" period I bond them with carbide (71-75rc). A little graphite or oil/lube will help these break in comfortably. If they don't smooth out to your satisfaction (I highly doubt it) I will be happy to mirror polish the blade's lockface to help smooth it out.

Honestly after adjusting these bad boys I do not recommend one hand unlocking and flipping closed. The blade alone weighs around 8oz and with the greased lighting bearings it would easily come flying to the closed position with your thumb still in the way. Wicked fast one finger opening has its drawbacks I guess.

The detent setting to me was the hardest part of getting these to "feel" right. With such a heavy blade certain considerations had to be made to make flipping feel natural and safe and still having enough retention. Originally I had a VERY strong detent set on these but it was just plain uncomfortable to deploy the blade.

As to the stonewashing and grind marks. My goal for this knife aesthetically was to make it look and feel like the serious tool that it is. Each blade was sanded to 120, blasted, and then stonewashed for 3 hrs. For an even brushed/satin surface I left that as an option to refine the surface finish furthur if people wanted that. There is even one lucky guy who ordered brushed AND stonewashed. I don't play favorites but HOLY COW does that look sweet!

Thanks for all the critique and kind words! I feel that having such an open relationship between maker and customer has helped these knives become the best I have ever made. Your comments and continued support will only make them get better and better.
 
Carpentermatt said:
How sharp did the knives arrive, could you cut phone book paper? Are they easy to flip without any wrist action? They look great can't wait for mine.
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Pretty sharp. It looks like I can cut paper but not newsprint. I haven't owned a phone book in over a decade! I'd say it isn't super sharp, but I don't think a super thin fine edge would work on a blade this thick. I might be able to cut paper better if I worked at it, but this is a beast of a knife and it would be like hanging pictures with a sledge hammer. Wrong tool for the job.

They flip easily without an wrist action. Even straight up is doable most of the time. The blade is huge, but the flipper is proportionate so you've got a pretty large flipper giving you good leverage. My EDC though is a ZT 0560 and people have complained about the detent being ridiculously strong on it and I've had no problem with it at all. So other people may have a different opinion. You'll love flipping this thing open and if you haven't got the muscles, you're going to develop them because you'll be constantly flipping this bad boy open.

Mine with a couple dozen flippings and some graphite has really smoothed out and can be unlocked one handed reliably now. But as Will said, probably a bad idea. An 8oz blade slamming closed on a finger is going to cut in to the bone. It's hard to resist handling this thing like a regular sized knife though. For the size it is very well refined. Will has tuned them well and the bearings really make it snappy. There are maybe a few things I'd change (as I said) but no one is going to be unhappy with one of these. He sure has hit a home run with this.
 
Carpentermatt said:
How sharp did the knives arrive, could you cut phone book paper? Are they easy to flip without any wrist action? They look great can't wait for mine.
Click to expand...

oregonknifenerd said:
Pretty sharp. It looks like I can cut paper but not newsprint. I haven't owned a phone book in over a decade! I'd say it isn't super sharp, but I don't think a super thin fine edge would work on a blade this thick. I might be able to cut paper better if I worked at it, but this is a beast of a knife and it would be like hanging pictures with a sledge hammer. Wrong tool for the job.
Click to expand...

I ship these blades sharp. You can cut printer paper all day long. Yes its possible on a long fast draw cut to slice up phonebook/newsprint paper but just as oregonknifenerd said the blade profile isn't suited specifically for that task. Wrong tool for the job. A super slicer would be 1-8-3/16" stock and hollow ground. What you get with the TiTAN is a folding knife that can fit in your pocket or in your pack that can double duty some of the chores left to larger fixed blades.

Plus its as loud as a shotgun racking its slide when it opens.:D
 
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