Heat treating titanium???

R

RobertHankins

Joined
Jun 10, 2001
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Read somewhere that a maker had Hardened some Titanium 6al-4v I believe. I always thought Titanium was hard to start off with.
Wondering if this is just a claim or can it be done...
Anybody who knows of this please feel free to chime in.
It can be cut with a bandsaw even a 1/2" rod, it is another matter to try and grind this stuff:eek:
 
heat it as hot as you can with a propane torch.........it gets MUCH harder!

DO NOT QUENCH...........air cool.
 
Tom,
Hey thanks I knew you would come thru!
I did notice that it started to harden just a little every time I was grinding.
 
Will it get harder than hardened steel? I have been having a problem with one of my factory folders, the liner is getting a lot of wear where it rubs the blade. Do you think if I hardened the liner where it meets it would help any?
 
make sure you take the ball out or it will cook the temper and make it soft........then get it as hot as you can with a propane torch.
 
Tom,

Thanks for the tips. I am going to give it a try and see what happens. I just hate to sned things away to get them fixed, I can do it myself, or destroy it trying. Either way I will be happier, but of course if I can actually fix the knife I would be even more happy!:D
 
Pure titanium is soft and easy to work. Some of the alloys can be heat treated and some of those get very difficult to work. I had a piece that I was told was just "titanium", I could barely touch it with a saw or file. So like steel it depends on the alloy.
 
most of the titanium used by knifemakers is 6/4
it is one of the tougher alloys and gets a number of points harder by heating it red hot.


To get the ball out you have to take the knife apart and use a small pin punch or small drill bit to punch it out, and after you cook the end of the lock face put it back with a small hammer, making sure not to hit it too hard and push the ball bearing past the effective range of its purpose.
 
mr. Mayo, what after heating it red hot? quench in oil/water or aircool back to normal temperature? TIA

Kenny
 
Kenny.
Just heat it to a dull red and let air cool, gets hard as a rock. If you quench it it gets soft not hard I believe.
 
Blinker , NO. If you want to anneal Ti-6-4 heat to 1300 and cool in furnace. Air cool or quench will harden.
 
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