How do you heat-anodize titanium scales?

arcanum

arcanum

Joined
Dec 22, 2003
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OK, so I've fired up a butane torch (kitchen/creme brulee-type -- don't spank me too hard) a handful of times in order to "colorize" my Ti-scaled folders -- and all I've ended up with is a handful of really hot titanium with a negligible amount of shading but NO color.

What's the trick??
 
It's a matter of temperature.

Really hot titanium? With butane and propane torches, it will take some time to get the titanium to a heat that will color it.

Titanium starts to color around 600-700 degrees F.

When you first apply heat you'll first see moisture burn away and then a slightly duller layer of oxide will form. keep the heat even over the surface and not in a specific spot, and the titanium will actually start turning red if you are using a propane torch with constant heat on. When it starts turning red just pull the flame away long enough so you can watch the oxidation. The material needs air to actually oxidize, so don't just hold the flame on it if it's turning red. As you get towards higher temperature colors, you will find that the material goes red quicker and quicker and so you need to be more careful with your flame.

The first coloration will start to be a straw yellow color. If you sweep the torch over it evenly and allow it to continue to oxidize, it will turn into more of a gold and bronze, then it will break into the purple zone. After purple it will turn blue, then the blue will pull away to reveal a bright cyan. The cyan will then turn into gold, and the gold will again revert to a cyanish color that then makes way for magenta and finally green.

It takes reasonably good control of your heat to get colors above purple and blue to be consistent, and it's hard to get any consistency with the higher-order colors like magenta and green.

ADDENDUM: while the target of your heat should remain the scales, bear in mind that this temperature can affect the hardness of your blade and may also affect the washers. Try to make sure you isolate the scales from the blade and swashers.
 
Remember that the outer cone of the flame is oxydizing and the inner cone is reducing.
 
Worse yet, you will ruin the hardness of your detent ball. Much better to anodize electrically or use heat before you set the detent.
 
Voodo, while I typically like the darker colors obtained fron heat ano'ing ti, your Sebbie looks damn good as is! Very nicely done.
 
yep hotter torches can get nice effects I've found too, especially if you can control the size of the flame.

an example of my rainbow effect on some chopstick handles:
stix8.jpg


the lighting isn't so hot but you can still see that it goes up through greens and everything. Pretty much every color on the oxide spectrum is represented there hehehe.
 
I heat anodized a large Pat Crawford Leopard several years back using one of the small handheld torches that run off butane fuel. Came out nicely colored except for one spot where it made a dark spot. Only real trouble was that the heat allowed the detent ball to fall out!
 
is it possible to heat anodize a piece of titanium by sticking it in a wood fire, like a camp fire? Will it get hot enough?
 
The best way to anodize Ti IMO is with the proper anodizing set up. http://mrtitanium.com/anodizing.html Is a good place for info.

My other hobby, chainmaille, has me working with Ti fairly regularly. I have a friend who has a set up and it works wonders. You get great, consistent colors. He told me it only cost him a few hundred for the set up, but he can control so much with it.

BTW, I REALLY like those chopsticks.
 
it used to be popular to use windex on cammilus cuda maxx handles, it darkens them a bit FWIW.
 
Do Benchmade Bali's handles have a ball detent? Or are you talking about the detent ball in the liner of a folding knife?
 
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