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- Dec 27, 2013
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Throughout the process of developing highly functional real titanium swords, there have been a few notions repeatedly brought up against them that are incorrect...sort of. Each of them is a reason why titanium supposedly can not make a "real sword," which we will define as "able to perform similar tasks as a good steel sword." They are:
-Too brittle
-Too soft
-Too light
It turns out that, with the wrong alloy and/or bad processing, the first two can easily be true, so I don't blame people for thinking it's the case. The third one is simply due to misunderstandings about swords and how they work, and titanium alloy properties, which is also understandable. The problem is that this gets repeated constantly and reinforced by anonymous internet "experts."
In order to truly make titanium swords a real thing, these stubborn notions need to be defeated once and for all.
Thescience alchemy metallurgy doin's behind making a good titanium sword is more complicated than I can quickly explain, but my counter argument to the above is basically:
-Titanium alloys normally are not brittle, and are used specifically because they are the opposite of brittle.
-Titanium alloys are often formulated to be soft because they are used for structural purposes, but there are certain alloys that can be made plenty hard enough for a sword through heat treatment and processing.
-Titanium alloys are not especially light, in fact for a sword-sized blade they are an ideal weight and if anything open up more design possibilities.
In my opinion, the right ti alloy, with the right design and work put into it, is excellent for sword or machete use - the properties are damn near perfect, at least for what I'm trying to create...
Nevertheless, out there in the world the big question still persists: Can a titanium sword really work?
Enter Knife or Death.
This TV show has many dozens of people of all walks of life using a huge variety of blades to cut and smash their way through obstacles, many of which are damn near trying to break one's blade or otherwise render it unusable. To put one of my titanium alloy blades through the course would be the perfect way to show, incontrovertibly, indisputably, undeniably, that it can hold its own with what a steel blade can do.
.....or to be exposed as the soft, brittle, glorified aluminum the anonymous internet experts say it is.
What will it be, folks?
Is titanium really able to make a functional sword or machete that can do work similar to a good steel version?
Or has the entire titanium sword presentation been smoke and mirrors the whole time?
Am I crazy? A blatant liar? A con artist? Simply mistaken and ignorant about large blades, and in for a HUGE reality check on the KoD course?
Will the light weight make the blade unable to cut?
Will the ti alloy blade shatter to pieces on a block of ice? Will it wrap itself into a pretzel around a hanging fish? Will it flop off of a rope like an unsharpened noodle?
No one knows.
But they can all find out when the titanium sword episode airs, soon!
-Too brittle
-Too soft
-Too light
It turns out that, with the wrong alloy and/or bad processing, the first two can easily be true, so I don't blame people for thinking it's the case. The third one is simply due to misunderstandings about swords and how they work, and titanium alloy properties, which is also understandable. The problem is that this gets repeated constantly and reinforced by anonymous internet "experts."
In order to truly make titanium swords a real thing, these stubborn notions need to be defeated once and for all.
The
-Titanium alloys normally are not brittle, and are used specifically because they are the opposite of brittle.
-Titanium alloys are often formulated to be soft because they are used for structural purposes, but there are certain alloys that can be made plenty hard enough for a sword through heat treatment and processing.
-Titanium alloys are not especially light, in fact for a sword-sized blade they are an ideal weight and if anything open up more design possibilities.
In my opinion, the right ti alloy, with the right design and work put into it, is excellent for sword or machete use - the properties are damn near perfect, at least for what I'm trying to create...
Nevertheless, out there in the world the big question still persists: Can a titanium sword really work?
Enter Knife or Death.
This TV show has many dozens of people of all walks of life using a huge variety of blades to cut and smash their way through obstacles, many of which are damn near trying to break one's blade or otherwise render it unusable. To put one of my titanium alloy blades through the course would be the perfect way to show, incontrovertibly, indisputably, undeniably, that it can hold its own with what a steel blade can do.
.....or to be exposed as the soft, brittle, glorified aluminum the anonymous internet experts say it is.
What will it be, folks?
Is titanium really able to make a functional sword or machete that can do work similar to a good steel version?
Or has the entire titanium sword presentation been smoke and mirrors the whole time?
Am I crazy? A blatant liar? A con artist? Simply mistaken and ignorant about large blades, and in for a HUGE reality check on the KoD course?
Will the light weight make the blade unable to cut?
Will the ti alloy blade shatter to pieces on a block of ice? Will it wrap itself into a pretzel around a hanging fish? Will it flop off of a rope like an unsharpened noodle?
No one knows.
But they can all find out when the titanium sword episode airs, soon!
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