Titanium - Material questions

J S Machine

J S Machine

Well-Known Member
I've never worked with any titanium, and I was wondering how it is. Is this metal easy to saw / grind / drill (machine)? I'm assuming it does not have to be heat treated. Does it hold up well? I see alot of makers use it in their knives. Just wondering what the advantages are, other than it being very light weight.
 
I'm fairly new to titanium but so far I've found it to be kinda strange. It drills like magnesium and grinds like crap:) the band saw will cut it just fine. I usualy cut my handles and blades out with a 4.5" grinder titanium doesn't cut very well but it works.

When you grind it on the beltsander watch that you don't have a pile of micarta dust below the grinder. The sparks from titanium are white and tend to catch things on fire:) lol. It's kinda neat how the sparks stick to the belt too.
 
Titanium has a lot of unique working characteristics, depending on the grade used. The most common grade used in knifemaking is 6AL4V. This grade of titanium is tough on tooling. It drills best a slow speeds with lube, likewise it grinds best with belts running at slower speeds.

The best word I can use to describe it is "tough"...it's not hard, in fact about the best you can do for hardness is approx Rc 48 (depending on the grade). There is no "heat treating" with Ti, at least not in the sense that most knifemakers would think of. Several years ago there was a big buzz about using Ti for blades and having it "Nitride" coated, but that faded fairly quickly one everyone realized that after the first sharpening, the nitride coating was gone, and the edge was back to straight titaninum.
Knifemakers value it for it's light weight, and the ability to color it via anodizing. During the last decade, titanium has pretty much become the standard for folding knife liners.

A few years ago, ABS Mastersmith Tom Ferry came up with a process of laminating titanium into a damascus like product called Timascus (TM)...he, along with a couple of others that he works with hold the patent for that process and material.

One of the biggest dangers has already been mentioned....the white hot sparks that it gives off when grinding. I've had the unfortunate experience of having a pile of Ti shavings ignite...and water will not put out the fire!

Another hazard that needs to be addressed is that Ti produces toxic fumes when ground....although we don't hear much about it, a number of folks I know have had "Titanium poisoning". A GOOD respirator with harmful vapor filters, and lots of fresh air are a good idea when grinding it.

Once you learn and understand the material, it's not all that difficult to work with. The prices on it vary widely, so if your looking at purchasing titanium, it's worth your effort to look around and seek different sources. Many time I have found different sources for the same grade, with one source being half the price of the other.
 
Thanks guys. Very good information.

Sounds alot like 300 series stainless in it's "tough" characteristics.

I was thinking about buying some of it to use for liners. I have brass sheet as well, but I really don't know which would be better for liners.

FYI -

As for the fire - this is what is known as a Class D fire. Mostly metals create Class D fires, but there are other substances that will also. Ever seen a magnisum fire starter? Same thing..The only way to put out a class D fire is to smother it with a class D extinguishing agent (most are shoveled on to the burning source) to take away the oxygen. Really the only way you can put them out.

Also did not know it produced poisonous gas when ground. That isn't good.
 
I'm glad I wear a mask when I grind anyway since I didn't know it was super bad for you:)thanks man!!!
 
Titanium fires are some else. It happily burns nitrogen as well as oxygen and rips oxygen
away from hydrogen and carbon -- the reason most fire extinguishing methods don't work
is that it's burning the extinguishing agent.

As for it's being tough rather than hard. Ed is right of course, but "soft" titanium is a lot
harder than annealed steel. Filework is a lot more work on titanium.

Thanks a lot for the fume warning Ed.
 
treat it like 300 series SS for drilling and machining it work hardens just the same it is easy to work with by hand it will dull cutters due to it's abrasive tendencies
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top