Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2011 16:35:33 GMT
Well I just wanted the titanium one for the unique color it looks stunning
A person of means maybe not so much, I have spent over 6 years in japan studying martial arts and have made alot of friends and contacts which is how my collection goes
The one on commission is the first one I truly had not "help" with and is all mine
|
|
|
|
Post by Cold Napalm on Mar 28, 2011 17:16:35 GMT
A bit of science...the red color is not titanium but titanium oxide...or titanium rust.
Anyways, the practicals of it. The moment you have to repolish the sword, that finish is gone. It is surface layer only. Depending on how many demos you do and how often, it may not be worth while. Titanium oxide coated edges have a tendency to turn into crap while coated and as such, your repolishing process maybe extra painful (the microserration is mentioned in review of the GG sword). While this maybe fine for a knife, it's a bad thing for a sword edge. So all in all, unless you have enough spare cash to use it for demo as a throw away sword, I would rather avoid it.
Oh avoid the chinese lamininate steel ones...those coating are SUPER thin so you can see the pattern better.
|
|
|
|
Post by templar on Mar 28, 2011 17:49:38 GMT
Cold Napalm: since you seem knowledgeable in this area, what about the Masahiro red anodized katana at Trueswords? It really does look great (I bought it), but it is a suface treatment (perhaps all anodizing is) which I know from putting a finer edge on it and seeing the "shine" on the edge. I did read that carbon steel cannot be anodized, but gave it a try anyway since I did not wish to believe that both Masahiro and Trueswords would just lie about it. Your opinion please.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cold Napalm on Mar 28, 2011 18:47:15 GMT
You can't anodize steel because...well technically you can but it's bad. What anodizing is you use an electrical process in solution to cause the formation of the metal oxide to form in a thick layer as protectant and also to hold color better in the case of aluminum or zinc. In the case of steel, what happens is making iron oxide is a BAD thing so you umm don't want to do it. However, aluminum oxide can be powdered and then coated on steel...and generally when you see an anodized finish on steel objects (like say an axe head) it is anodized aluminum powder coat.
|
|
Sam H
Member
Posts: 1,099
|
Post by Sam H on Mar 28, 2011 19:04:32 GMT
The three swords you listed are in my opinion not worth the purchase. As others have stated the coloring is only on the surface. Once you start cutting with the sword just the act of cutting with it will start to wear surface coloring (is most likely the product of controlled oxidation of the blade) and your blade will end up not looking very impressive at all.
That said you should stay away from these swords. If you're looking for an inexpensive katana to cut with here in the US then I'd suggest a Hanwei Practical Katana. It can be had for around the prices you're expecting to pay after shipping for those titanium anodized katana and will prove a more durable and effective cutter than them.
Aside from that TS168traging (first seller) uses gifs and images that are the same as those used by Ryanswords and Brandonswords (two other sellers from ebay that have earned a fairly poor reputation for themselves regarding the quality of their swords). That's a red flag for me and I'd stay away.
St-nihonto only has 85 feedback and is very new on ebay as a seller. Judging from his wares though I would wager a guess that he's selling the same stuff that TS168trading is selling which means its probably the same stuff that Ryanswords etc. are selling. Also in my opinion a good idea to stay clear of them.
Tckruan is an importer from China if I can remember correctly. Their products are hit or miss (historically) and you could get a good item or a bad one. I think they source from multiple suppliers in China and as such QC is questionable. I would personally be wary of the products (especially since while returns are accepted you'll end up spending just as much on the sword to send it back to China as you did purchasing it).
Oh and regarding anodizing carbon steel - yeah its bad as CN said. The reason its bad though is because carbon steel and iron has a tendency to "exfoliate" when they oxidize. Anodizing is just causing controlled oxidation through the use of an electrical current... it gets more technical than this but there's no need to go into details about the process. Anyway when iron or carbon steel oxidizes (rusts) it tends to flake off. This flaking exposes new iron or steel beneath which then can be oxidized. That's why carbon steel and iron pits when it rusts. If you anodize/oxidize a carbon steel blade it'll just peel off revealing the new steel underneath. Bad for the blade and counter productive toward the purpose of anodizing anyway.
Also as CN stated its possible to achieve an anodized finish on steel objects - axe heads and stainless steel blades, even carbon steel blades (a la ninjato) but its done so with an anodized aluminum powder coat. That, just like anodizing itself, only creates an outer layer which can be removed with normal cutting uses and of course the sharpening/polishing process.
All in all just added costs that are not really very useful in a sword that will be used to cut with regularly.
|
|
George
Member
Banned
Posts: 1,899
|
Post by George on Mar 28, 2011 21:05:29 GMT
I had 2 G-1000 Fireblades. They are in NO WAY worth that price. Blunt as a butter knife (BOTH of them) and one of them had a missaligned Habaki. Maybe worth $200 MAX but i wouldnt want to cut with them. Glad i sold mine, waste of time really.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2011 23:58:34 GMT
I want to thank everyone, finding all that out about the red bums me out, at the same time makes me glad I didn't not order one. Like someone said there are way better cutters out there
|
|
|
|
Post by birdman on Apr 6, 2011 21:43:37 GMT
Are you certain it's not titanium nitride (also called TiN) coated? I have a machining background and I can tell you, TiN is highly abrasion resistant and is used in coatings for cutting tools (drills, carbide, etc). The stuff you see on tools is usually gold colored, though I have heard of others (mainly blues and purples).
|
|
|
|
Post by chuckinohio on Apr 6, 2011 21:59:30 GMT
True Titanium Nitrided tools are always gold as far as I can recollect. The different colors of titanium surface treatments result from titanium nitrided along with carbon or aluminum, and something else that escapes me at the moment. Their primary benefit is in corrosion resistance.
Myself, I would be cautious when dealing with overseas claims about superior metallurgy, or if the coating is even a Titanium Nitride coating.
|
|
