Drawbacks of Titanium

cost i would think..

Well this website says....

Titanium Alloys - Wear Resistance

Titanium Alloys - Wear Resistance

The surfaces of titanium and of all commercially produced alloys of titanium have relatively poor wear resistance. In particular, titanium surfaces in contact with each other or with other metals readily gall under conditions of sliding contact or fretting. Even with light loading and little relative movement, complete seizure of surfaces can occur. This situation is caused by adhesive wear in which microscopic asperities on the metal surfaces come into contact as a result of relative sliding and they tend to weld together forming a bond at the junction which can have a rupture strength greater than the strength of the underlying metal. Fracture then takes place at one of the asperities causing metal to be transferred from one surface to the other. The debris so formed gives rise to the accelerated wear that occurs with titanium.

Very few if any drawbacks.
1. Cost is really the only one.
2. The wearing properties and galling that Daniel mentions above are could be real dangers for mechanisms. However, these problems could be completely eliminated by shot peening and coating/treating. I am not an engineer, but I sat behind one for several years who had decades of experience with Ti. We had these conversations about Ti all the time. I might be wrong, but unless you have high loads, and are sliding at a frequent rate/ long duration, then you should not have any galling problems. It's a speargun mechanism, not an automobile transmission.

For Knives, Most Titanium alloys will not be able to hold an edge very well. You would need to use "Beta C" or another alloy(name escapes me). These can be heat treated to Rockwell Hardness 40c and higher

Quote from Dan

What are the negatives of using Titanium for our applications; knives, trigger mechanisms etc.?

Back on this topic Tues... I'm doing home work tonight, and the dog ate my slide rule.;)

Cheers, Don

From my limited experience, titanium does not sharpen well because it's so hard, once my wenoka titanium knife got dull it was almost impossible to sharpen it without using a file.

Will never buy anything diving related made from titanium or that has titanium in it.... Stainless steel all the way! May be a durable metal but too expensive, all a marketing gimmick by companies in my eyes.

"speargun blue water trigger mechanism"
I was looking at that also. I'd like to see one.

Someone had Ti shafts once I saw online. Now that is interesting. Think of how quickly they would accelerate? But at 3x the cost of SS.

Quote from Dan

These guys apparently are making titanium trigger mechs speargun blue water trigger mechanism

http://www.speargunsystems.com/triggerpicforpage.jpg

using ti for a trigger is a bad accident waiting to happen .ti is malleable and will shatter like glass under high load impact .it is not a good choice for ,trigger mechs ,or spear tips. it is best used for light weighting motor cycles ,bikes , and airplanes .
phil

Quote from dustyyoungblood

"speargun blue water trigger mechanism"
I was looking at that also. I'd like to see one.

Someone had Ti shafts once I saw online. Now that is interesting. Think of how quickly they would accelerate? But at 3x the cost of SS.

Think more about how quickly they will decelerate pushing thru a medium app 800 times denser that air.

I have some 6 ft Alpha Grade 3/8 shafts I made 30 years ago. for a guy that had to try it.

It is a poor choice for a spear gun mech unless the parts are Tiodize processed. ( a MilSpec process). $$$$.

Cheers, Don

Quote from Don Paul

Think more about how quickly they will decelerate pushing thru a medium app 800 times denser that air.

I have some 6 ft Alpha Grade 3/8 shafts I made 30 years ago. for a guy that had to try it.

It is a poor choice for a spear gun mech unless the parts are Tiodize processed. ( a MilSpec process). $$$$.

Cheers, Don

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That is really good insight Don. I bet even 30 years ago those Ti shafts were very expensive! Did they kill any fish? I don't remember who said it but my favorite quote is.....
"All the good ideas have already been proven not to work" Not that I buy that sort of BS, but in this case, probably true.

Quote from dustyyoungblood

That is really good insight Don. I bet even 30 years ago those Ti shafts were very expensive! Did they kill any fish? I don't remember who said it but my favorite quote is.....
"All the good ideas have already been proven not to work" Not that I buy that sort of BS, but in this case, probably true.

The faster you go....the harder it is to go fast.;)

Cheers, Don

great material for saving weight, i have a ti road bike and love it but it's not as stiff as people think. i made several hybrids early on using it and found it to flex way more than i though. in fact, it flexed more that aluminum with an extruded rail built in and at the same price as carbon it just didn't make sense to continue. i think for our purposes the only positive other than the "bling" factor is its resistance to corrosion.

Quote from metelin

great material for saving weight, i have a ti road bike and love it but it's not as stiff as people think. i made several hybrids early on using it and found it to flex way more than i though. in fact, it flexed more that aluminum with an extruded rail built in and at the same price as carbon it just didn't make sense to continue. i think for our purposes the only positive other than the "bling" factor is its resistance to corrosion.

i think that people think ti is some indestructible metal , because of the aerospace roots ,and price . in reality its just, light weight, corrosion resistant aluminum. i do have to admit ti is fun to anodize
phil

Quote from phil herranen

i think that people think ti is some indestructible metal , because of the aerospace roots ,and price . in reality its just, light weight, corrosion resistant aluminum. i do have to admit ti is fun to anodize
phil

I like Ti as a choice when a application warrants it. With a melting point at 1668.C vs Al @ 660.32C it has it's place. It's atomic wt is #22 vs #13 for Al.....so if a guys has a ultra hot GF she will like the earrings you fab for her.:D

Cheers, Don

one fairly ovbious drawback to Ti and any other metal besides SS is the corrosion. I know this happens with any two metals in salt, but no one had articulated it yet on this thread...any Ti parts would have to be kept away from the Al and SS parts which is a Pain in the Ass

i will say this, the ti spork i got as a camping tool about 8 years ago is the greatest tool i have ever owned...i have used it for eating, cooking, planing bamboo to make a cane pole, screw and unscrew anything, remove splinters, dig small holes....it is indestructable and easy to clean.

I like Ti but I agree with Phil, it gets a lot of "wow" because people dont know much hahaha

Quote from LunkerBuster

i will say this, the ti spork i got as a camping tool about 8 years ago is the greatest tool i have ever owned...i have used it for eating, cooking, planing bamboo to make a cane pole, screw and unscrew anything, remove splinters, dig small holes....it is indestructable and easy to clean

That is so funny, I have a Ti spork in my lunch box today!!!! I use it all the time. It is so light, I get less fatigued with eating large meals. I got a bunch one year on backcountry.com for cheap.

Quote from dustyyoungblood

That is so funny, I have a Ti spork in my lunch box today!!!! I use it all the time. It is so light, I get less fatigued with eating large meals. I got a bunch one year on backcountry.com for cheap.

you,sir, are a man after my own heart
hahahaha

Quote from chris oak

From my limited experience, titanium does not sharpen well because it's so hard, once my wenoka titanium knife got dull it was almost impossible to sharpen it without using a file.

I noticed the same thing.

Also, in knife applications, I've heard rumors it is a bit more brittle, and more prone to snapping. Which explains why I broke off a titanium blade in the head of a big AJ once. (wenoka blacky collins design)