Titanium san mai ring dao

Mecha

Mecha

Titanium Bladesmith
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Dec 27, 2013
Messages
10,005
Hello sword people! Got the latest one ready to show!

It's a large two-handed ring dao, with a titanium hilt and a blade made of forge-welded titanium alloy san mai. I'm very pleased with the dynamic balance of this sword. It floats to exactly where you need it, when you need it there.

More pics and info in the post in my subforum, here:

https://bladeforums.com/threads/forged-titanium-san-mai-ring-dao.1777064/#post-20353868



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VIDEO!



Thanks for looking! :)
 
Excellent, congrats! I like the "hamon line" you get with your san mai, and as always, your musical selection.
 
Charlie_K said:
I still don't understand how titanium can give desirable results when it comes to swordsmithing.
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Most titanium alloys inherently have great attributes for a sword, the problem was figuring out how to retain those attributes while getting it "hard" enough to hold a good and sharp, durable edge. I put that word in quotes because it isn't really hardness, so much as the edge having the quality of not giving way to the medium being cut.
 
JParanee said:
Great stuff Sam

very interesting stuff going on there
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Thanks JP, I wish you could see it in person, as the photos don't really show off the facets and slight curves very well. For example, the handle is about 1/4" taller or more at the ring and the guard, than in the middle. When the sheath is finished, I either have to make a light box or send it to Coop to get a better image.
 
JParanee said:
If they have Blade are you coming this year ?
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Nor sure. I'll likely make it to the Blade Show West in California because it's easily driveable, but getting all the way to Atlanta can be a pain. :D If I wasn't such a scatterbrained spaz I'd just have one to send to you to see and use to cut. Perhaps soon it'll happen.
 
Bigfattyt said:
Science.


There are some pretty crazy cutting videos with Mecha's titanium swords.

Including trees.
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If they are easily found, I'd like to see some? I tried searching and all I can see are stills/music videos of Knife or Death....Cool blade but I'd like to see it Moving too.
 
Crag the Brewer said:
If they are easily found, I'd like to see some? I tried searching and all I can see are stills/music videos of Knife or Death....Cool blade but I'd like to see it Moving too.
Click to expand...

Most of the cutting videos are older proof videos showing edge and blade durability.

Here was the most recent one, just a slim straight sword made of Ti Nb alloy:


Since many of the more recent swords were custom-made for someone, including this ring dao, I don't really get to cut with them as they should be new when they arrive. Titanium gets visible scratches easily.

This jian was a custom and so I only cut a few melons things with it. Not a very good video:


Here is one of the oldest videos just showing some of the first heat-treated blades getting tested for basic durability:



Dan Keffeler did some wicked cutting with his big san mai titanium katana he made recently. He made it from one of the other billets we made, forged and heat treated by me, with him doing everything else to make it a sword. It's the same alloys as this ring dao, though the dao has a much thicker core:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_TqJMFDUqH/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_U6JLoDxVY/

Here was a different layered ti blade he tested, like the one above he made the sword, of a billet forged and HT'd by me:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7wIAAbnpNr/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7wrW8iHL1U/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7ydmfCHp-5/

Dan obviously has mad skills and working with him is helping bring out the utmost potential of the ti swords.

This dao probably can't one-shot a 5" diameter freezing cold tree just due to differences in blade geometry, but metallurgically it's probably even slightly better simply because it was one of the second round of san mai billets we made (hence the thicker core), whereas in his videos those were some of our first test subjects.

Watching the Knife or Death episode (season 2, episode 12) is probably the best demonstration of one of these big ti blades in action vis-a-vis various steel blades.
 
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Mecha said:
Most of the cutting videos are older proof videos showing edge and blade durability.

Here was the most recent one, just a slim straight sword made of Ti Nb alloy:


Since many of the more recent swords were custom-made for someone, including this ring dao, I don't really get to cut with them as they should be new when they arrive. Titanium gets visible scratches easily.

This jian was a custom and so I only cut a few melons things with it. Not a very good video:


Here is one of the oldest videos just showing some of the first heat-treated blades getting tested for basic durability:



Dan Keffeler did some wicked cutting with his big san mai titanium katana he made recently. He made it from one of the other billets we made, forged and heat treated by me, with him doing everything else to make it a sword. It's the same alloys as this ring dao, though the dao has a much thicker core:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_TqJMFDUqH/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_U6JLoDxVY/

Here was a different layered ti blade he tested, like the one above he made the sword, of a billet forged and HT'd by me:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7wIAAbnpNr/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7wrW8iHL1U/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7ydmfCHp-5/

Dan obviously has mad skills and working with him is helping bring out the utmost potential of the ti swords.

This dao probably can't one-shot a 5" diameter freezing cold tree just due to differences in blade geometry, but metallurgically it's probably even slightly better simply because it was one of the second round of san mai billets we made (hence the thicker core), whereas in his videos those were some of our first test subjects.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the Links!!!
I stumbled across your stuff last year, at first I wasn't sure if it was Real or not? Haha.... You probably get that reaction alot.
I can't even imagine what they feel like?

Now I have more research, I'd love a simple Beater some day..... Thank you.
 
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Crag the Brewer said:
Thanks for all the Links!!!
I stumbled across your stuff last year, at first I wasn't sure if it was Real or not? Haha.... You probably get that reaction alot.
I can't even imagine what they feel like?

Now I have more research, I'd love a simple Beater some day..... Thank you.
Click to expand...


Mecha Mecha
OMG! what was I seeing? Wow!
Ok, they are Real!!!
(i had responded earlier without seeing your IG links, I'm at work) and laughing/Smiling.
Fudge
 
Crag the Brewer said:
Thanks for all the Links!!!
I stumbled across your stuff last year, at first I wasn't sure if it was Real or not? Haha.... You probably get that reaction alot.
I can't even imagine what they feel like?

Now I have more research, I'd love a simple Beater some day..... Thanks you.
Click to expand...

No problem! Yes it was pretty funny trying to prove they were real. Been accused of using steel blades in the videos or otherwise being a scam artist.

The ti versions are so light and easy to use, they're quite fun, and the machete-type are very useful tools.
 
Crag the Brewer said:
Mecha Mecha
OMG! what was I seeing? Wow!
Ok, they are Real!!!
(i had responded earlier without seeing your IG links, I'm at work) and laughing/Smiling.
Fudge
Click to expand...

Yep it's hard to beat Dan when it comes to making a blade that can cut like it's from an anime. He showed just how insane a ti sword can get and really raised the bar in that regard, and I was very pleased to see that the ti, when the right alloy(s) are worked and heat-treated the right way, can support his type of insane blade cutting geometry.
 
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