Aluminum knives??

not2sharp

not2sharp

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It strikes me that aluminum is our most common metal, yet I do not recall anyone every starting a tread to discuss the properties of aluminum as a candidate for knife blades. We see it frequently used to make sword and knife stage props, or trainers; it is commonly used as a handle material; but has anyone ever tried to make an edged blade from the stuff? In its pure form it can be soft and difficult to work, but there are a wide range of alloys available and some of these should be usable, if only to offer an alternative to the plastic picnic set, or some other light use.

n2s
 
Alu alloys are made to be light, yet strong. Never to be hard.

As far as I know there are no alu alloys harder than bronze. In fact, the only alloy I know of that can be heat treated contains an amount of copper.

You could use Alu oxide, though. Sapphire as it is known to most. You could reproduce lab conditions and synthesize the stuff yourself but you'd need a diamond grinder to shape it.


For picknicks I'd personally prefer titanium or a well made plastic butter knife. Alu tends to rub off a little.
 
aluminum for blades is not a great idea. However, aluminum makes outstanding blade furniture. Light, strong, durable, etc. People put aluminum down then drive to an airport in a car full of aluminum and fly to the show in an aluminum plane.

The only reason I can think of that people really dislike aluminum is that it was used as bolster, guard, and butt cap material in a number of cheap knives in the past. It polishes well, too. I have always wondered why more people don't use aluminum on knives. Sure, some of the alloys are pretty easy to scratch, but on a working knife that doesn't really matter. Some of the copper/bronze alloys are really easy to scratch, too. Light and strong and easy to form. Seems like it should be a winner.

I don't know about how well one can patinate aluminum. There may be a range of colors, but I just don't know.

take care,
kc
 
Aluminum fatigues quickly under repeated flexing stress. Not a great material for a sword, chopper or anything that will pry or sustain impact. It's gummy to grind, but you could file it.
 
Aluminum alloyed with titanium is regularly used to make knives (6Al4V and other alloys). They aren't superb, but they do the job.
 
Aluminum is not favored for fittings for another reason- it tarnishes quickly. Polish or sand it to look as nice as you like, within a month or even less it'll be back to dull gray. Also, it tends to scratch easily. So, kind of like the bad things about brass, but worse. To me it's the plastic of metals.
 
Aluminum is soft, weak, a pain to machine and expensive. Steel is hard, strong, easy to machine and inexpensive.
 
kevin -the professor said:
I don't know about how well one can patinate aluminum. There may be a range of colors, but I just don't know.
Click to expand...
Aluminum anodizes into many colors...
PBbolt4.jpg
aa_cat.jpg


mini-knife-245.jpg
 
james terrio said:
Aluminum is soft, weak, a pain to machine and expensive. Steel is hard, strong, easy to machine and inexpensive.
Click to expand...
You gotta buy better aluminum.

It should not be a pain to machine unless you are buying 1000, 3000, or 5000 series.

And it's dirt cheap.

But, it doesn't make good knife furniture unless anodized.
 
Points taken, Thank you :)

Back to the OP... I remain fully unconvinced that aluminum blades are a good idea.
 
Oh yeah, the OP...

Aluminum blades = No Good.

Perhaps as a replacement for plastic picnic utensils, but expect to throw them away, just like the plastic.

Your time would be better spent making decent knives out of a more reasonable material.
 
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