Titanium Is it a good metal for Razors?

My curiosity was piqued after reading a member's review of a titanium razor on a now closed thread - yes titanium is a polarizing metal. In any case I went to Wiki and learned all sorts of fascinating things about titanium. My conclusion is that the use of titanium in safety razors is essentially a marketing ploy - its a vanity metal in that it is perceived to be rare, exotic and expensive thus enabling the producer to obtain premium pricing, (although Italian Barber is about to kick the underpinnings out from under that market. Assuming they are able to produce their promised sub $100 titanium razor in sufficient quantities to meet demand.) From what I can see there is nothing about the strengths and weaknesses of titanium that makes it necessarily suited nor unsuited to making safety razors.

Here is the Wiki link to Titanium - its very interesting

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanium

I agree wholeheartedly Mark. It's just a marketing ploy. Ooohhh, titanium. I kind of feel the same way about stainless steel. It's still just steel after all. I don't get why it has to be so expensive for something you use to shave your face. If people are willing to pay though, let 'em.

That was my point in the now closed thread. I would hate to see a newcomer swindled thinking Titanium provides a better shave. It's a solid metal just lighter than stainless steel. That's it. It provides no benefit whatsoever to the shave and should not cost $400. There are plenty of exotic metals (Iridium, Tungsten, Platinum, Palladium) out there but what benefit they provide to a shave is clear...none.

It's a marketing ploy by a vendor to maximize profit that is no benefit to the wet shaving community as a whole.

It's a racket.

I have seen a noticeable difference in the weight of titanium watches like Omega and Tissot, but my understanding is that it is slightly softer and more prone to scratches which is not good for me in a watch or watch strap. I can say that the beast of a razor which was the Mongoose V3 in stainless steel at 142 grams would have benefitted loosing some of that weight.

I agree wholeheartedly Mark. It's just a marketing ploy. Ooohhh, titanium. I kind of feel the same way about stainless steel. It's still just steel after all. I don't get why it has to be so expensive for something you use to shave your face. If people are willing to pay though, let 'em.

I have three Harley Davidson motorcycles, One highly custom another partly custom. Shinny metals on a bike are either chrome plated, polished billet aluminum or stainless steel. All three are expensive and the stainless steel is generally the most costly for various reasons. It cost more to manufacture stainless. Stainless steel is notable for its corrosion resistance, and it is widely used for food handling and cutlery among many other applications. It is a metal alloy, made up of steel mixed with elements such as chromium, nickel, molybdenum, silicon, aluminum, and carbon. This process adds to the cost of the product and there are various grades depending on the use. And lastly, it is very difficult to machine. There is a lot of labor as well as the cost of the equipment to machine it. The cost of which is absorbed into the product. Take the process to manufacture razors such as Muhle, Edwin Jagger, Merkur, etc. Their two piece heads are cast from inexpensive metal products and then chrome plated. The raw materials as well as the process are relatively inexpensive. I believe Titanium is a costly metal as well. Do razors made from expensive products shave any better than less expensive ones? Probably not. It is the opinion of the purchaser on what they want to spend.

I'm on political thin ice here in old fashioned carbon steel skates. Titanium's extraction, and that of many other rare metals like those in our cellphones inflict a horrific toll on the environment and human rights. I am not so foolish as to think harranging a user will save the whales. But I love it when some See Air E Club fool from downtown El. A. with his ultralight uber expensive titanium coffeecup and stove freaks at my sickening assembly of military surplus, vintage commercial and recycled kit as he/she grimly marches at a set pace clicking off ranger beads like a Buddhist or Catholic only to collapse at trail's end while I have philosophical discussions with butterflies.

I agree wholeheartedly Mark. It's just a marketing ploy. Ooohhh, titanium. I kind of feel the same way about stainless steel. It's still just steel after all. I don't get why it has to be so expensive for something you use to shave your face. If people are willing to pay though, let 'em.

I have three Harley Davidson motorcycles, One highly custom another partly custom. Shinny metals on a bike are either chrome plated, polished billet aluminum or stainless steel. All three are expensive and the stainless steel is generally the most costly for various reasons. It cost more to manufacture stainless. Stainless steel is notable for its corrosion resistance, and it is widely used for food handling and cutlery among many other applications. It is a metal alloy, made up of steel mixed with elements such as chromium, nickel, molybdenum, silicon, aluminum, and carbon. This process adds to the cost of the product and there are various grades depending on the use. And lastly, it is very difficult to machine. There is a lot of labor as well as the cost of the equipment to machine it. The cost of which is absorbed into the product. Take the process to manufacture razors such as Muhle, Edwin Jagger, Merkur, etc. Their two piece heads are cast from inexpensive metal products and then chrome plated. The raw materials as well as the process are relatively inexpensive. I believe Titanium is a costly metal as well. Do razors made from expensive products shave any better than less expensive ones? Probably not. It is the opinion of the purchaser on what they want to spend.

Good points. I guess I just showed my lack of knowledge in the metallurgy department. But like you said, are those materials going to produce a razor that shaves better? Probably not.

I tend to agree that titanium doesn't necessarily offer a lot of additional benefits that SS and AL don't already provide. However, I get a ton of requests for titanium razors so people are clearly interested. At the end of the day, the community gets to decide what it wants. If there is a market for titanium razors, then they'll be around. And if there isn't one, they'll go away or occupy a small niche. Either way, I think it's always great to provide more options to the community.

Titanium is incredibly expensive to machine. It's notoriously hard on tools due it's high strength, elasticity, and poor thermal conductivity. A lot of shops won't machine titanium because of the high costs and wear on tooling. Because of those reasons I don't think the high price tag is a money grab, especially for a one-man shop. Now, is it worth the price? That's for the community to decide and I think that's a wonderful thing.

The USN eliminated all non nuclear powered aircraft carriers under the argument they can sail almost indefinitely without refueling. I POed a junior officer asking what all those aeroplanes and escort ships were powered with? I don't see many titanium razorblades out there.

Titanium is just as good as the other higher grade metals brass,copper,SS,aluminum. It is not much more expensive than the others, but machining cost, polishing or trying to achieve the raw matte finish is time consuming vs the other.

To be honest a brass razor is enough to last life times, but SS takes the cake when it comes to cost of production, strength,anti rust properties. While yes Ti is very acceptable for safety razors, but its also overkill because of its machining costs and SS offers same qualities at much less.