I forged a titanium knife

On a crafts fair ages ago I had forged a knife from titanium, an old piece of material from a  prothetics corporation, 6AL4,5V.  Fact is, I had heard it were impossible to forge a knife from it with an open coal forge, so I did. Fact is, there is a reason why we use steel for blades. Titanium is of course a finicky bstd to work with and to forge.  I would not make something that really needs to hold up repeated flex stress from it with an open coal forge. I used borax to minimize contamination, but it is of course suboptimal.  On the other hand, what you want to prevent in a setting where you deliver constant flexibility stress to the workpiece, might actually be a good thing for edge retention. Hydrogen buildup and oxide buildup make it brittle, but also harder. So I tried to keep that out during most of the forging process, cold- forged the edge and then slammed it full- tilt into the Ventilation stream of the forge, cold forged some more, put it back in and forged it far too hot on a wet anvil, but only the outer edge.  

 It actually gets a lousy edge, but keeps it forever. It is surprisingly well suited for feathersticking, though, and cuts surprisingly well. Getting it up to shaving sharpness is a bit tricky, but possible. It loses that hair-popping sharpness quite fast, to a point where it actually does shave, but only with some effort, but stays that way for a long time.  

As for lateral strength, in spite of the somewhat crazy forging method, it maintained well enough strength to stand up to some equally crazy stress tests.  

So, is Titanium actually suited for a bushcraft knife? 

Well, there is still a reason we use steel.  For carving, you know my stance on Moras, and that hasn't changed a bit. I would use the knife for digging up roots or breaking apart stuff, like in the video, harvesting herbs and mushrooms.  To be honest, a Mora or similar knife can do all this, too.  But remember, that thing was forged with an utterly punk method, in next to no time, on an event, between forging with kids. There could be more potential to the material with a bit more effort and a more controlled environment.  But that would actually no longer be anything resource- efficient. With high tech equipment, you could get a better result. 

The advantages of Titanium might be lighter weight, extreme corrosion resistance, tensile strength and antimagnetic properties.  If you want to pokeydeepoke at a landmine, a Titanium knife might be the way to go. But then I do not want to poke at landmines at all. 

It looks cool, though, and maybe I will make myself a golden sickle from it. Its edge holding capabilities are a bit comparable to good cutlery bronze. So, maybe that will be a thing in the future.  

Thanks for looking, and take care! 

Friction folder with a titanium handle

Long time, no writ, so to say. In the meantime, the world has gone utterly, completely and absolutely mad. M-A-D. Off the rocker. Lost its marbles. Yap. 

Most of you know that, and I could not possibly add to anything that has already been said about that. We will be facing autocrats all over the world, maybe WWIV. Yes, IV. And climate change. And poverty and sickness and decay. Yes. 

Of course I am fucked. Being an artist, as I finally have acknowledged to myself, I will suffer from starvation, neglect or even be manhunted. And time was, I panicked. Been through one or the other ordeal. 

You know what? You know what saved me?

Oh, I think you guessed.... ;-). There are lovely people having me and my smithy, and I could start to forge again. On private ground, with my own tools and my own forge, and for the most part, solitarily, meaning, I can actually concentrate on real progress for myself. Forging outside, in a lovely orchard. Not perfect, and not permanently, and I still have to look for a smithy, but oh so good. It reminds me of the time when I took up smithing, way back then in the garden of my old home by the lake, which is no more. But this is new. 

And when I am forging stuff, there are few things to keep me from focusing on the good work. Meaning, I can make some actual progress, and, focussing helps to keep out all the negative stuff. Just the fire, hammer and anvil. A green orchard, a bit of silence otherwise. Perfect.

This is something I am a bit proud of, even if I still have a lot to learn still. I owe a lot to Fabrice Julien Cognot and master Nobuya Hayashi simply for inspiring me. Same goes for my old friend Joel Delorme, who got me started in the first on wanting to make these folders. I have grown increasingly fond of these. They offer almost the strength of a fixed blade knife, are good to carry around, and they do not scream "combat knife" on top of their lungs... ;-) And it is a dead simple design, which, if made carefully, offer a lot of safety, a surprising amount of it, in fact. 

The all-metal design also is sturdy and resilient to boot. Three parts, no frills.

This is a WIP, of course, not peened over yet, and I have to adjust the handle a bit still. Actually, the handle design is inspired by a knife from the viking age. There are several finds from Novgorod and Birka. As an example, this one might do:(http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/NovgorodMetalp.html)

In Birka, there are finds that have the metal handle protrude in front towards the blade, keeping it spring-loaded and thusly in the handle. This works surprisingly well. The knife I am currently making has a titanium handle, which I forged from a round stock of Ti6Al4,5V, which I got on a Marburgian flea market. as I said, the protrusions towards the blade will be adjusted some and will do the job to keep the blade in. If you opened it, the friction in the handle and your hand will serve the purpose to keep it safe. No lock required, and thusly perfectly legal in Germany.

The blade, however, is another novelty for me. I used 1.2842 (O2). I am just beginning to learn the ins and outs of this steel, but as is, it makes for a good compromise between hardness, edge retetntion and flexibility. Of course I gave it a selective temper, including the rivet hole, of course.

Actually, I see this as a beginning of a journey. It feels good to experience a progress, and while I know that this is in no way perfect, I know that another journey just started. And it gives my hands something productive to do and relieves me from code black.

And this , as I hope, is a positive message for my faithful readers around the world. At least, it is for me. The internet is full of the latest bad news and catastrophes, served hot from a press that is meaning no ill but serves its purpose. And there is little we can do. 

What we can, however, is giving our hands something to do. Of course some of you might be confined to your homes, some of you might not be able to get outside or into a shop. But a pencil and some paper, knitting or naalbindning needles, some leather, twine, awl and needles will serve you well, and this is something you can even do in your kitchen or living room. Whatever you do, take your break from the everyday rapidfire of bad news. Give your hands something to do, They are better connected to your heart than your mind can ever be. Don´t try to change things you cannot change. Keep it simple, and put one foot firmly planted upon the earth after the other. One step at a time. And new trails will open. 

Take good care, all of you, and stay healthy!