Tag Archives: Grade 5 Titanium

Space-inspired titanium watch traces the Earth and Moon’s orbit around the Sun

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Although the measurement of time is mostly a human construct, it has its basis in the natural world. A day is the time it takes for the sun to rise, set, and rise again, a month is how long it takes for the moon to go through all four of its phases, and a year is how long the seasons last. All of these, including the change of seasons, are pretty much the result of the orbit of the Earth around the sun and the orbit of the Moon around the Earth. It’s a movement that happens on a regular cadence without fail, which is to say it happens like clockwork. It’s no surprise, then, to find an elegant and luxurious watch that brings all these elements together, letting you watch not only the passage of time each day but also the journey of our planet and its companion.

Designer: Theo Auffret (Complication), Olivier Gamiette (Case, Dial) for SpaceOne Watches

Analog watches are already quite complex because of the mechanisms that make the parts move, but the SpaceOne Tellurium takes that to a whole new level with additional complications for its unique complication (pun intended). Aside from the typical hour and minute hands, this titanium watch also shows tiny versions of the Earth and the Moon going around a proportionally minuscule sun in the middle. The smaller spheres don’t simply go around the watch and call it a day, though, because the movement of these miniature Earth and Moon mirror the actual rhythm of their celestial counterparts.

Connected to the watch’s Soprod Caliber P024 movement is a star wheel with 31 teeth, representing the days in a month. When the date changes, this wheel advances two small star wheels, both with 12 teeth, that advance the month and move the Tellurium complication, respectively. The Earth, and therefore also the Moon, is connected to a ring with 365 teeth, which makes it complete a revolution once a year. With this mechanism, you can accurately follow the movement of the Earth and the Moon and even predict the next full or new moon phases. Consequently, it also means you will need to adjust and fine-tune the watch every time the number of days in a month changes between 30 and 31.

The watch’s celestial beauty is complemented by its premium materials and stunning design. Grade 5 titanium gives the case and strap buckle durability and lightness while also lending an elegant appearance. Instead of the typical quarter division of numbers, the watch face is divided into three sections only, forming a triangular shape that feels more suitable for a space-inspired design. This visual is further enhanced by a black and blue color scheme, with a sprinkle of white dots to represent stars against the darkness of space.

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Titanium Meets Carbon Fiber: The Tactical EDC Knife You Won’t Want To Live Without

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Call it an occupational hazard, but I’ve probably seen over a thousand EDC knives through my 8-year career as a design writer and I’ve probably forgotten a bunch of them. There are a few handful of designs, however, that stand out in my memory for having either a unique design, a clever detail, immense functionality, or using a particular set of materials. The Thunder utility knife ticks most of those boxes.

With a name like “The Thunder”, you’ve got to take this knife seriously, right? Designed to be compact, easy to deploy, and ridiculously effective, the Thunder knife finds its purpose in being a tactical-ready knife that’s just perfect for everything you’d need a knife for. Whether you’re cutting through zip-tie handcuffs, whittling wood for a fireplace, or even opening a box you received in the mail, the Thunder knife serves as an ideal companion. The knife relies on a sharp, replaceable CKB-2 utility blade, and comes with a Grade-5 Titanium handle with Carbon Fiber inlays and an incredibly enjoyable one-hand deployment mechanism. In short, the knife’s handle will last multiple lifetimes, and the replaceable blade lets you always have a dangerously sharp utility knife at all times without all the maintenance most knives require.

Designer: AlloyX

Click Here to Buy Now: $149 $199 (25% off) Hurry! Only 4 Days Left!

The Thunder is an extraordinary flipper for a whole variety of reasons. It’s robust, reliable, and has a ravishing personality. The handle, blade holder, and pocket clip all come machined from solid Grade-5 Titanium (the same kind used in the new iPhone 15 Pro phones), while carbon fiber inlays within the handle give the Thunder its dynamic, edgy appearance. There isn’t enough carbon fiber to materially reduce the weight of the Thunder or add to its ruggedness, but let’s not forget that Titanium is the strongest metal in the world, and it’s also significantly lighter than stainless steel, making the Thunder weigh a mere 3.17 ounces (90 grams) despite its full-size design.

The Thunder’s clever design allows for a number of different deployment styles – all of which are just as rapid and effective. A fin on the top of the knife (when closed) lets you trigger the blade open with your index finger, or alternatively, a thumb stud lets you use your thumb to flick the blade open. Both methods work equally well, allowing you to deploy your knife blade with a single hand, while a liner lock snaps the blade in place so it doesn’t accidentally shut while you’re cutting something. Disengaging the liner lock can be done with a single hand or both hands, and the blade can then be docked back within its handle for another day.

Rather than having its own blade, the Thunder relies on a standard CKB-2 utility blade that you can easily insert into the knife’s holder. Counter-sunk screws hold the knife’s various parts together, and the entire body can be disassembled every time you want to replace an old blade with a new one. If that sounds cumbersome, it’s guaranteed to be faster than sitting and sharpening your blade, and actually results in less waste since you just need to swap out the blade itself rather than throwing the entire knife away. The detachable blade design also makes the Thunder TSA-friendly, allowing you to simply ditch the blade (or pack it separately) and travel with just the handle in your carry-on luggage or on your person.

The CKB-2 blade is an absolute monster, working phenomenally well with its scalpel-style design and long edge to get you out of sticky situations. The tactical blade works well in emergency situations but serves remarkably in regular outdoor and indoor use too. Use it to cut wood, slice and dice food, open boxes, or even envelopes. Manufactured by Olfa, the blades come made from high-quality stainless steel, and are known for their edge retention, corrosion resistance, and versatility, making them a popular choice among outdoor enthusiasts, hunters, and survivalists.

The Thunder measures 4.48 inches long when closed, opening to a 6.8-inch knife that’s easy to grip thanks to that full-size ergonomic ambidextrous handle. It even comes with an ambidextrous deep pocket clip that you can attach on either side, or remove entirely too. A lanyard hole on the extreme end lets you string a cord or pass a keyring/carabiner through the Thunder, making it easy to carry around. The knife also sports 4 tritium slots (two in the handle, two in the blade holder) that let you mount glowing tritium sticks into it so that it’s easier to spot in the dark.

The Thunder Utility Knife starts at a respectable $149 (that’s 25% off its 199 MSRP), which is a steal considering its GR5 Titanium + Carbon Fiber make. For an extra $15, however, you can either get a custom engraving on the knife’s body, or have it PVD-coated matte black to make it look even more stealthy and deadly. The Thunder comes with one CKB-2 blade included, and for $25 the makers will ship you two spare blades. Deliveries for the Thunder begin as early as November 2023, with free global shipping.

Click Here to Buy Now: $149 $199 (25% off) Hurry! Only 4 Days Left!

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Grade 5 Titanium Explained: The ‘Indestructible’ Metal Used to Build the Apple iPhone 15 Pro

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For a company that’s been so bullish on Aluminum (or aluminium as Jony Ive called it), Apple’s gradual shift to titanium feels like an end of an era. For two decades, Apple has pretty much revolutionized the use of aluminum in technology, but hey… it’s the future, we’re about to colonize Mars, and it’s high time we thought bigger, right? Well, the folks at Apple certainly think so, having unveiled their first iPhone made out of titanium. This isn’t the first time Apple’s made a gadget out of titanium (the Apple Watch Ultra from last year holds that distinction), and it certainly isn’t the first time any company has made a phone out of titanium. In 2015, the Turing Phone boasted a titanium body, and in 2017, the Essential Phone from Andy Rubin touted the same titanium construction. However, nobody does fanfare as well as Apple, and they’ve pretty much put a spotlight on the fact that the iPhone 15 Pro is their first-ever iPhone crafted from titanium; and not just ordinary titanium, but Grade 5 titanium. So… what is Grade 5 titanium, you ask?

What is Grade 5 Titanium?

Just by itself, Titanium is a standout metal known for its high strength, low density, biocompatibility, and corrosion resistance. Grade 5, commonly referred to as Ti-6Al-4V, is an alloy of titanium that includes 6% Aluminum and 4% Vanadium. This combination amplifies the metal’s strength, making it the go-to titanium grade for various high-performance applications in aerospace, racing, and human implants… and even a hot favorite for the EveryDay Carry (EDC) community.

Grade 5 vs. Regular Titanium?

Standard commercial pure titanium, often referred to as “Grade 1” or “Grade 2,” is robust and corrosion-resistant. However, when you mix it with aluminum and vanadium to produce Grade 5 Titanium, you get a metal that’s about twice as strong as its basic counterpart. Moreover, while pure titanium grades boast commendable corrosion resistance, especially against oxygen, Grade 5 takes it a step further by offering enhanced resistance against wear and fatigue. This unique combination of properties makes Grade 5 not just an upgrade but rather a different league, setting a gold standard in high-performance low-weight materials.

Comparing Titanium with Steel and Aluminum

  1. Strength and Weight: When pitted against steel, titanium stands out for its impressive strength-to-weight ratio. Titanium alloys, like Grade 5, offer strengths comparable to many steels, but at nearly half the weight. Aluminum, previously used in iPhone models, is lighter than titanium but doesn’t come close in terms of strength.
  2. Corrosion Resistance: Both titanium and aluminum resist corrosion well. However, titanium has the edge, especially in saline or chlorine-rich environments. Titanium’s corrosion resistance is significantly superior compared to steel, especially if it’s not ‘stainless’ or treated in other ways.
  3. Thermal Expansion: Titanium’s thermal expansion rate is closer to that of glass. When used in something like a smartphone, this becomes crucial. An iPhone screen is essentially glass, and by using a metal with a similar expansion rate, the risk of structural integrity loss due to temperature fluctuations is minimized.
  4. Flexibility: One of the understated properties of titanium is its flexibility. While steel can be rigid and aluminum might be too pliable, titanium strikes a balance, giving devices like the iPhone 15 Pro resilience against bending or deformation.

Is a Titanium iPhone really THAT special?

Truth be told, it seems like the titanium build is, in some ways, an over-correction for bend-gate. It wasn’t particularly a great time in Apple’s history, with people folding and snapping their aluminum iPhones in half, and since then, Apple’s worked hard to make sure people don’t turn their smartphones into tacos for the internet to enjoy. The company transitioned to Stainless Steel for their Pro iPhone models, and one could say that was pretty much as strong as anyone needed their iPhone chassis to be. Titanium is overkill at this point, especially given that with any iPhone, the true weakness lies in the glass front and back… and not the metal frame itself. Sure, the company’s developed Ceramic Shield, but drop it on the floor and it’ll still probably shatter while the outer metal frame doesn’t as much as get a lasting scratch. Now Apple hasn’t specifically highlighted the phone’s rugged durability and toughness, they’ve only mentioned how tough titanium is ‘as a material’, listing its accomplishments on the earth and in outer space. The phone isn’t made entirely of titanium either – it still has an internal aluminum framework, with an aerospace-grade titanium band on the outside. How does that benefit the consumer? Well, it doesn’t in the ways you think, but you’re bound to notice how luxuriously thin the iPhone 15 Pro is when compared to previous steel models. Apple also highlights that using Grade 5 Titanium also allowed them to make the chassis thinner and push the bezels even further to the edge, resulting in a more expansive-looking screen that’s just great to look at… if you’ve got upwards of $999 to pay for it!

Read More – iPhone 15 Pro Hands On: Lighter, Snazzier, and a real Pinky-Saver

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