What about a titanium sword - with a steel blade-inlay?

[Mp7]

I remember a thread where it was discussed - at length
why there are no blades made of titanium.

BUT:

If one made a Katana length sword out of titanium
and would put a ( let´s say 63Rockwell) blade inlay
into the titanium shell ...

wouldnt we end up with the sharpness of a Katana
and like 60% of the original weight?

Wouldnt this be an idea for a pure fighting knife also?


( i got this idea while staring at a few Mora blades i have
sitting on my table. They´d be perfect to be incorporated
into something like a Titananium wakizashi!)

PLZ correct me, if it´s been done,
or tell me what´s sooo stupid about it?

 

[General Geoff]

The only real advantage of titanium as it would pertain to a sword, would be extreme corrosion resistance. Swords (especially katanas) aren't heavy enough for weight savings to be a major consideration of blade material. You want a certain amount of weight to a sword. The exception to this might be a rapier; a titanium rapier sounds pretty cool, actually.

 

[KenWP]

From what I learnt in metalurgical class things like guns in titaniuim are actually powder pressed into the shape of a gun and not cast so a sword would maybe difficult to make period.

 

[Owen]

KenWP,

Not all titanium gun parts are powdered metal. I'm know for a fact that the some mfg's revolver cylinders ae machined from bar.

Now, how they made the bar, I have no idea.

 

[Mp7]

Let´s theorize about a beehive-structure titanium "handle" that is very tough and very light. I realize, that for a Katana the weight difference would be little.
A battleaxe, Battlet(klingon), Tomahawk, Warhammer or a 1,1/2 hander
would be reasonably lighter though.

The purpose of a sword is thrusting and slashing. Hacking is for movies and bamboo tests , right?

 

[Joe Demko]

I don't think a 40% weight savings is worth all the extra cost and effort in a knife; probably not in a sword either. Another factor to consider is rigidity. I may be wrong, but I don't think a titanium sword would be a rigid as one made from steel.

 

[Mp7]

@joe

I yesterday saw that the "Apache" rotor blades are made from titanium and carbon.
Must be pretty tough then, eh?

And let´s leave "price" out out for now

 

[Joe Demko]

The stresses put on rotor blades are not the same as those put on a sword. What little use titanium does see in edged weapons is due to it being non-sparking and not having a magnetic signature more than anything else. These things are unimportant in a sword and would no longer be the case due to your steel inlay anyway.

 

[Joe Demko]

Swords, even more than guns, are a mature technology. We can bat around ideas for making them out of alternate materials from steel, but after all the manufacturing hurdles have been jumped, will we have a better sword? Or, will we have a sword that is basically a novelty due to unusual construction?

 

[hso]

Hacking is for movies and bamboo tests , right?

Wrong

You need mass in a sword to carry though coverings and flesh and bone. The cut from collar to armpit requires force and technique.

I have blades of Ti and C-fiber. I have blades of Ti laminated to steel cores. I have Ti alloy blades. They're interesting, but they're not going to be able to perform like a sword that requires some inertia to cut through large body parts.

For knives, sure, within their limitations. Swords, well you might lighten a large broad or bastard or two-hander or their Asian equivalents, but you don't want too much mass taken away or you loose the benefit of the inertia.

 

[Mp7]

Ok. Understood the points.


@hso
What would be the perfect bladeweapon type then
for the titanium-inlay concept?

For a rapier sometinhg like the Apache-Rotor should work.
Titanium/carbon with razor blade steel edges on the side, eh?

Maybe those KungFu Butterfly-doubleswords?

Or do you think it´s complete nonsense?

Something like an extrem lightweight version
of my Glock M78 would be an option.

Cut & thrust. But i guess at that low weight
it makes lil sense unless u need to take it on
a tour de France trip

Maybe a "Main Gauche" since it´s the weak hand,
that holds it.

*rant*

 

[CWL]

hso said it.

Lightness isn't always a benefit. You know how sharp a razor blade is, but does it have enough mass to cut very deeply if you pushed it into something? No. It can only slice well.

I think that the only benefit of a lighter metal may be for a thrusting-only sword. But it may have too little mass to effectively parry your opponent's blade.

 

[Owen]

the problem is that you're thinking "let's make a titanium sword," rather than, what needs to be improved about a sword, and what would be the best material to choose to effect that improvement.

 

[JShirley]

Ah. Owen is using the Lean Six Sigma approach. Yeah, look at what you want to happen before you try to figure out how to get there.

 

[The Highlander]

I think a strong glass composite blade edge would be quite interesting, if only for smaller applications. Because glass lacks a crystalline structure, the edge it can take at the microscopic level would be much, much finer. The only problem is that glass is generally weak and brittle. Still certain glasses like obsidian are already found in surgical applications. I'd like to see that technology mature and be able to function in a place like the kitchen or office. In time maybe even in some kind of self defense blade.

tl;dr - refine current metallic glasses or develop a new glass composite which can both take an ultrafine edge yet be less prone to chipping.

Also, I'm not quite as familiar with ceramic blades, however I do know they exit, and are also brittle. Ceramic kinda bridges the crystalline/glass void. If anyone is familiar with ceramics please throw your $.02 USD in.

 

[CWL]

There are ceramic blades which can hold up to aggressive cutting & prying, Mad Dog knives makes them (used to). These are very thick, much thicker than metallic knives, and cannot be sharpened as fine as steel.

They serve a special purpose, the only one that really makes sense is for EOD applications where you may need non-metallic tools. Extreme corrosion resistance and Special Ops can probably find cheaper and better solutions.

Ceramics used for kitchen cutlery & folding knives are very brittle and can break if you drop them, I have personally chipped the edge of my Kyocera Santuko by cutting hard crusted bread. Ceramic knives of 'standard' thicknesses lack 'mass' and can not chop or cut meat very well at all. Don't bother trying to resharpen,

Stick with steel. Since it's discovery and refinement, mankind has put away all other metals as well as flint, chert, obsidian, etc. for use as edged tools because it is better.

 

[hso]

Yep, Owen nailed it.

Where is there an advantage in reducing the weight of a sword? Very large swords with more than enough mass to get through man and material might benefit from loosing some weight to gain speed. Small swords that are already light might be well served by removing even more ounces as long as they retain rigidity and the ability to absorb lateral stress without breaking. Your rapier might be just the thing to shed a few ounces. Defensive weapons, as you suggest., might be good candidates also.