The purpose of Titanium Handles

[willisoften]

As far as I’m concerned is to put the price up.
I have a few knives with titanium handles and only two ever see much use and they are both small slipjoints even then I’d prefer they had Ti liners if you must, and Micarta or G10 or Wood or plastic scales. I find Ti’ handles generally slippery and cold or sweaty and prone to slip not to mention easy to mark. Am I alone?

 

[Steely_Gunz]

If you're worried about the price of something being increased for profit-sake, then welcome to capitalism.

Titanium does command a premium, but it basically gives the handle the strength of steel at about the weight of aluminum. It machines well and takes a good texture. The orange peel finish is one of my favorites.

Could G10 or Micarta work? Sure. That's all we need...but come to think of it, all we NEED is a nicely finished wood. Maybe we should all settle on a mora or opinel The nice thing about options is that we are free to like or dislike what we choose and purchase or not purchase said items.

Personally, I love the look and feel of titanium. Most of my edc knives sport handles in Ti. I find micarta to feel kinda cheap. It holds up and looks fine, but there isn't a knife I own handled in it that I didn't wish were either titanium scaled or or carbon fiber. G10 is a different story. I do like it for knives that are most likely going to be used in slippery situations. That stuff is like velcro in the hand. Very utility based.

 

[Wasty]

If you like metal scales, titanium is nice to touch and to look at.
For my urban EDC I like an Alox SAK, but as an outdoor tool I prefer something with a warmer & less slippery grip like G10, micarta, rubber or even plastic.

 

[Wolverine666]

Titanium is by far my favorite handle material. A nice sand blast or glass blast provides me with all the grip I need. Then if you add some inlays of wood , micarta or CF , you’ve got yourself some extra texture and good looks as well. All my opinion.

 

[Booba1000]

Titanium is king!!

 

[Synov]

It lasts forever, weighs nothing, and looks good. What's the problem? If you don't like the price then don't buy it.

 

[jstn]

If it has some texture then I’m fine with it. Otherwise, too slick for me. I think most of it is just aesthetic and the cool factor of owning Ti.

 

[Wandering_About]

Yes, such poor stuff. Everybody should send me all their plain jane Chris Reeves so I can properly... erm... dispose of them.

 

[mmyron1]

As far as I’m concerned is to put the price up.
I have a few knives with titanium handles and only two ever see much use and they are both small slipjoints even then I’d prefer they had Ti liners if you must, and Micarta or G10 or Wood or plastic scales. I find Ti’ handles generally slippery and cold or sweaty and prone to slip not to mention easy to mark. Am I alone?

Are you alone...no. I'm not a big fan of titanium handles but I do like certain folders that make use of them. I would love a sebenza or umnumzaan. I have a few titanium folders and they get almost zero carry time. Not because of handle but because of design. I prefer a grippy g10 to be honest.

But you lost me at plastic. That just feels cheap to me.

 

[Alberta Ed]

If the titanium feels slippery you can stick on grip tape (OK, ugly) or have it textured. I have no problem with my Sebbie 21's grip.

 

[HexY3co]

Titanium is good stuff, I have a piece in my leg and if it's good enough for my leg then it's good enough for me.

 

[DMG]

Threads like this remind me how little people know about economics.

 

[Locutus D'Borg]

I like titantium. Okay, I like most scale materials. I'm not a heavy user, i tend to baby my knives. So Ti works for me. The knives are Ti, watch is SS.

 

[Reswob]

As far as I’m concerned is to put the price up.

In most cases, this seems to be exactly the case. Advertise Ti scales and suddenly you can charge a lot more than the actual price difference for the material. Sure it's stronger, but for 99.9999% of users, aluminum will do just as well (and is lighter).
Not to say I don't appreciate a nicely machined Ti handle, but the markup seems insane most of the time.

Same thing for the latest fad "super" steel. Stamp 20CV or Magnacut on the blade and you can charge twice as much. Does the material actually costs that much more than CPM154, etc? Doubt it.

 

[jiggyfly16]

Also Titanium is much harder on tools and abrasives Which can drive the price up

 

[SomebodySomewhere]

Deleted.

 

[Danke42]

Oh they're hideous!

Put in that G10 at the end to wash your eyes.

 

[calm]

yes

 

[Mimic Knife & Tool]

I think titanium is mostly for premium aesthetics and beauty, which has its place. It’s pretty much the least important consideration for me tho when choosing a knife. I usually like a warmer, grippier, lighter weight knife. I also like most of the value of my knife to be in the blade rather than the handle

 

[Hyesouljah]

Nothing beats blasted titanium imo. Super lightweight, insanely durable, doesn’t rust, and the snail trails it picks up over time becomes a testament to the character and memories made with your knife at your side. It will last longer than I will and one day my kids/grandkids can do the same with it god willing.