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Hi, I am new to the whole straight razor business except for the odd barber shave. I am learning but I was wondering if a titanium razor exists out there. I am not talking about coatings but solid titanium. I am converting most of my gear to titanium because of the amount of traveling I do. Does anyone have any ideas?
I'm certainly not a metallurgist, but I suspect that Titanium is
nowhere near any type of steel when it comes to forming and
holding an appropriate edge for shaving.
Titanium wouldn't be an appropriate metal for razors because unlike steel its really hard to remove metal from titanium, it sort of just moves around instead of coming off.
It doesn't exist, for the same reason titanium knife blades don't exist, it doesn't hold a edge.
I am not sure about straight razors but I know that titanium knives exist. I own a beautiful dive knife made from solid titanium. It retains an edge better then stainless and carbon steel but it is very hard to sharpen. I dive in salt water so titanium is the best blade for that sort of diving.
I might just have to accept that with the amount of honing required with a straight razor that it wouldn't be the right choice. I thought I would ask though. I can always dream.
Adam B
Wildtim beautiful dog, I have a Rhodesians ridgeback crossed with duck toller. Do you breed or train? I train service dogs myself.
Thats OK you can dream about a Titanium razor and I'd like one made from tallonite and neither of us will ever get what we want. Tallonite by the way is superior for diving purposes, it contains no iron.
I read somewhere the other day that although titanium is really hardwearing it doesn't get hard enough to be turned into a razor. Razors mostly (from what I remember) have a hardness of 59-61 on the rockwell scale while Titanium usually doesn't get muh harder than 53-54. (correct me if I'm wrong).
So that would mean that while it does have superb edge HOLDING quality. It's would be near impossible to get it to the right sharpness to make a razor.
What LX says.
You should think of titanium as a better aluminium. Not as a steel replacement.
Titatium is strong, but not hard.
A number of metals that are practical choices for knives in saltwater applications are poor choices when corrosion resistance isn't the most important property that the blade must have. Even "stainless" ATS-34, 154CM, 440C, S30V, etc., aren't really corrosion resistant enough for diving applications, in my opinion. These are "reasonable" compromises between the properties of corrosion resistance and edge taking/holding.
Titanium for dive knives is acceptable since it is corrosion resistant and non magnetic.
It makes a decent, not perfect, cutting edge because of its resistance to abrasion, not from any inherent hardening ability. It can be heat treated but the comparison of say Rc 47, which is about where Ti tops out, to hardened steel at Rc 59-60 can't be made because the two differing abrasion resistances make it an apples vs. oranges proposition.
Here's an interesting link: http://www.cutleryscience.com/reviews/MPK_Ti.html
Clearly this is a sales talk and I doubt anyone would ever put a razor to such extremes. But, there's no reason that a razor could not be made from Ti. It likely would not perform in the razor role nearly as adequately as expected from a rough use, lightweight field knife.
Didn't the Romans make razors out of brass or bronze? Maybe titanium is the answer to all our problems both personal and scientific.:shrug: :thinking: :hmmm:
Anyone willing to tell TI they've set off on the wrong foot with their new production?:y
Titanium is generally (falsely) regarded as a "wonder metal". People have been suggesting that it would be a sooooperior metal for making swords too, on the sword forum I frequent, but people who work with titanium all discount this as mere fancy. It is way too hard to work with, and apparently it's pretty easy to ruin drill bits and other tools on the titanium when you try to work on it. Although it's probably possible to make something which looks like a straigth razor from titanium, the process of making it would most likely make it one of the most expensive razors in history, I think.
As has already been stated, titanium should be considered a better version of aluminium. Great for some uses, not so great for others. Aluminium alloys can be hardened/heat treated too, yet I can't see anyone suggesting making an aluminium straight razor, or even an aluminium knife?
(There are swords and knives made from aluminium, but they are all blunt training weapons or so called "wasters".)
Could you imagine grinding a titanium razor blank on the present day machinery used to grind a steel razor blank? I envision the titanium blank just moving its metal in the direction of the grinding wheels until it's fully feathered out. It would remind me of that liquid metal character in the movie "Termanator 2".
I have worked with titanium quite a bit, and lemme just say that no one in their right mind would do a titanium blade. It is EXTREMELY difficult to work with, and as minstrel said, you ruin quite a bit of bits, blades, and tools trying to get it to do what you want. It has this nifty property that it welds itself back together...can you say pita? In other words, if you start cutting it, you actually are re-cutting the same material as it welds back.
I would rather take a good ol' stainless razor and dip the whole thing in vaseline than even attempt a titanium straight. Just stropping it would be a nightmare- I wonder if it would even do anything:thinking:
A titanium frameback with a steel blade might work. Might be concerns about different wear rates between the back and the edge when honing, but it could be done. Not sure if galvanic corrosion might be an issue.
I've been using titanium as a backing for my MOP and abalone scales. It's an awful PITA to work with, just like everyone else said. The stuff heats up instantly with any abrasion. When you're grinding, you have to use welding goggles because it's so bright. It burns up good belts in no time flat and dull belts just roll the metal around. The only reason I use it is because it's got such a good stiffness to weight ratio - much better than copper or nickel silver for a liner. But it does suck to work with it - and it's expensive. If I never worked with the stuff again, it wouldn't break my heart.