Would anyone be interested in a titanium Katana?

I don't really think you could call it a Katana. Maybe an "Alien Death Stick". Nah, i dunno. Does it cut? It looks too thick.

Thats awesome if you can sell it though, go for it.
 
FriskyDingo said:
Do you at least like the looks of it, functionality aside?
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no, I'm afraid I do not. Functionality and looks, to me, should be intrinsic. In my opinion, it neither looks good nor does it appear it will work for any amount of time.

You keep grinding away, though. It will help you stay out of trouble:)
 
FriskyDingo said:
No it's okay Lorien, I hear you. I'm pretty sure we all know by now that this isn't going to work as well as a steel katana for cutting, so the only option I have left for this sword is to make it look good. Do you at least like the looks of it, functionality aside?

You know the funny thing is I just got a PM from a member of another forum wanting to buy it when I'm done lol. Idk what to do, he offered me good money. I made sure to let him know Ti doesn't hold the greatest edge and has a chance of bending, but he didn't seem to care. Just wanted a lightweight rustproof blade that would look good.
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I don't.

It looks like you took a 0.25" thick bar of titanium, spent five minutes grinding an edge on it, and then an hour or two drilling holes and coloring it.
 
FriskyDingo said:
You know the funny thing is I just got a PM from a member of another forum wanting to buy it when I'm done lol. Idk what to do, he offered me good money. I made sure to let him know Ti doesn't hold the greatest edge and has a chance of bending, but he didn't seem to care. Just wanted a lightweight rustproof blade that would look good.
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Sell it ! :thumbup:
Btw, tiger stripes look good on tigers.
Knives, not so much.
JMO.

Doug
 
Everything I've wanted to say has been let known in some way by other forum members, so I wont go there now.

I will say that I do appreciate your creativity and your willingness to try different materials. A titanium katana? You're the first I've seen actually try it out. Many wouldn't consider it or get it past the drawing board if they did. You have a strong artistic vision too with the heat coloring etc. Maybe try some Ti jewelry for that girl of yours.

If someone likes your work and is willing to buy it, then that is awesome. People like what they like. I don't care for some very well known makers' work, and I love things that alot of people hate.

Like Snody said. Do YOU. I'm sure there's alot of people hating on Snody, but he keeps on doing his thing.

(I don't think Snody was bashing on you btw. I don't think I've ever seen him have anything but nice things to say, even when people are actively insulting him.)
 
Yeah I had a brief but pleasant conversation with Snody clearing the air, no hate from him just a misunderstanding on my part.

Well that's the thing, when you go with color and flair there's going to be a lot of mixed opinions. Everyone seems to hate the looks of it here versus on a couple gun forums I've posted it on, everyone loves it. I think it appeals to the survivalists who like the lightweight and rustproofness of it, so in a way it might make a decent last ditch weapon. It does shave hair and cut paper, I'll post a video of it when I'm done with the cord wrap, so it's not as if there isn't an edge on it. I'll be knocking the anodization off the edge and sending it off for carbide coating soon; the S-12 forum member wanted that feature and was offering to pay to have that work done.
 
bluejaunte said:
Matt Cucchiara's drill-hole "fizz" treatment is something of a trademark embellishment of his. I'd strongly suggest that out of courtesy you discuss it with him before you make a habit of selling blades with it.

http://www.cucchiaraknives.com/Thefizztreatment.html
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That is silly.

I don't think a maker can claim ownership to drilling dots in Titanium and heat anodizing. Where do you draw the line? Should I ask Tom Mayo if it is OK if I sell a frame lock that I drilled and bead blasted?

Come on....

OP,

I think that a curve would make your next one look a little more Katana-like and gracefull. Grind a few more knives and I think that you will be getting there. The Carbidizers aren't terribly expensive and might be a good investment for you.

-Nick
 
I agree with Rossi, not trying to cause another shitstorm but I don't think you can trademark that kind of thing. What if someone tried to trademark a bladeshape? It'd be silly.
 
I've seen that drill hole thing on a few production autos and some Benchmade knives, so I think it's just one of those public domain things. It's like a certain type of grind or patterns.

I like it though. Maybe more on the handle of a folder, as they cause stress riser on a blade as mentioned before.
 
I did a little research on the "copyright" or "trademark" of a design, and it turns out you CAN patent a design but they're incredibly weak patents so it's almost not worth getting them. You can get a patent specifically for a design which are only really useful, at least as far as I can think, if say you were manufacturing a cell phone with a special kind of connecter and you could patent the shape of the connecter so anyone who made something for your phone would have to pay royalties. Patenting something like a design on a knife would be impossible as all it would take to clear the patent would be to alter the shape slightly. I could see patenting a model of a knife, but as everything I'm doing right now is by hand, I can't file for patents, and if the other knife maker wanted to file for patents, the only way I'd be in violation would be if I copied his design exactly.

ANYWAY

I do it on most of what I make. Here's some work I did on a skirmish not too long ago:

DSC01351.jpg


I think it looks pretty good...
 
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Congrats on selling the Katana... any pictures of the finished product? I would love to see the Saya you came up with. I will be attempting my first in the near future. Were you able to get any cut tests in before it was snatched up?


Rick
 
No new pics for right now as my camera has been absconded with and I can't find it. I made up a titanium tsuba out of some .175 inch Ti and did it up with a "scratch" pattern with my dremel. For a Saya I'm still waiting for the finish to set, but I had some spare walnut laying around from a chest I made, and it was the perfect size to do up a scabbard. I sawed it into a long rectangular block, then in half to start shaping it. Then I made my measurements onto the walnut, routed out the middle and glued the two halves together. Idk if this is the traditional way of doing things, but it seems to have worked pretty well. Then I shaped the Saya into the typical shape you see them in. Finish is going to be a clear poly, and I'm on coat number two right now. The buyer is a local gunsmith who wants to hang it in his shop as a decorative piece.
 
I don't think you can underestimate the strength and durability of good old steel. Titanium does have many admirable properties but it cannot offer what steel can when it comes to knives and swords.

Titanium is not a 'better' material than steel, unless its being used for very specific applications in the aircraft industry. There really is no point in trying to reinvent the wheel here.

I think you would have been better off selling your bar of titanium and using the proceeds to invest in some decent high carbon steel and taken it from there.

As far as traditional methods of swordmaking goes, I watched an excellent doccie on NatGeo some time back on how the Japanese masters do it and I was blown away. For one thing, its entirely done by hand, no machines at all.

Just the sharpening and polishing stages is a skill that takes a lifetime to master. It really is incredible.
 
Man.. this forum is harsh.. So argumentative.
goodluck on your project man, worse case is, you slice up your katana and make bolsters and handle peices for knives
 
If I were to make a blade, I'd try to use the best available material for a blade. If Ti is not by any means the best available material for making blade, why bother? It'd be a perfect waste of time and material. Just my opinion, of course.
 
Check out September 2010 Blade Magazine, page 44. Tom Krein's "Broadhead", pictured top of pg. 44-45.

He did not seem to think Ti was such a complete dumb idea. :)
 
teacher said:
Check out September 2010 Blade Magazine, page 44. Tom Krein's "Broadhead", pictured top of pg. 44-45.

He did not seem to think Ti was such a complete dumb idea. :)
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I personally own a Krein "knife" in G10....cool backup, will even slice fairly well...like titanium, not remotely better than a ground "thin to win" knife in steel made by Tom.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
I personally own a Krein "knife" in G10....cool backup, will even slice fairly well...like titanium, not remotely better than a ground "thin to win" knife in steel made by Tom.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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I totally agree about the "better" statement. They are just different. :)

Although the "carbidized" Ti edge changes things completely over a plain Ti edge, from my experience anyway. :)
 
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