Let's talk titanium.

[SkullBouncer]

Titanium is non-magnetic, which can be a plus for Navy divers disarming mines. For everyone else, I'd say it's a much better handle material than blade material.

I agree. Thanx Paul :) :)

[Crux]

It's a great steel for submarines.

Indeed.
I learned that in the early 1980s +/- forward, the Soviets made particular Titanium submarine hulls which allowed maximum depth operations in the neighborhood of 3k feet. They were known to be very noisy and inefficient -- no idea what became of this fleet since then (very expensive to manufacture and maintain at battle readiness through the fall of the USSR). FYI the classified maximum operational depth of our fast attack boats is rated at 2k feet. JD, Crux -- correct me if necessary regarding any of these naval feats

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As I've earlier stated here on the forums, my cervical spine is fused with titanium implants and cadaver bones at three levels, as well my right hand has titanium plates and screws on the 4th and 5th metacarpals from a double compound fracture years back. Being these implants are non- ferrous, I'm good with MRIs.

Doing good on balance thus far; glad these surgical practices were available in my times of need.

:spyder: :spyder: Stay Sharp --
-- SB / BRUCE :cool: :cool:

The Alfa. I can never confirm or deny any info that isn't already public domain.

[SkullBouncer]

It's a great steel for submarines.

Indeed.
I learned that in the early 1980s +/- forward, the Soviets made particular Titanium submarine hulls which allowed maximum depth operations in the neighborhood of 3k feet. They were known to be very noisy and inefficient -- no idea what became of this fleet since then (very expensive to manufacture and maintain at battle readiness through the fall of the USSR). FYI the classified maximum operational depth of our fast attack boats is rated at 2k feet. JD, Crux -- correct me if necessary regarding any of these naval feats

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

As I've earlier stated here on the forums, my cervical spine is fused with titanium implants and cadaver bones at three levels, as well my right hand has titanium plates and screws on the 4th and 5th metacarpals from a double compound fracture years back. Being these implants are non- ferrous, I'm good with MRIs.

Doing good on balance thus far; glad these surgical practices were available in my times of need.

:spyder: :spyder: Stay Sharp --
-- SB / BRUCE :cool: :cool:

The Alfa. I can never confirm or deny any info that isn't already public domain.

I appreciate your stance and input, as I've been aboard an operational LA Class sub. I've also obtained and retained Level Secret onboard my first ship, but should have provided the inclusion of 'allegedly' ... not that I expect a nasty knock at the door, but point taken / SB / BRUCE :cool: :cool:

[Crux]

I will confirm that there are no windows. :)

Believe it or not that was the most asked question I used to get.

Another thing I can disclose is that the inside of a submarine is cleaner than most hospitals as field days were a sadistic and painful operation. The "goats" would go out of their way to find something dirty even though you just spent 6 straight hours cleaning an already clean area. The would use telescopic mirrors and flashlights to look everywhere possible. We finally drew the line when they opened operating equipment to complain that the moving stylus was burning audio signatures on paper and leaving a tiny amount of ash.

Scrubbing the below decks was a task E-5s (sometimes E-6s) and below would perform. This was done with a "greenie" scouring pad on your hands and knees and then wiped up by hand with paper "kimwipes". Later on they introduced wax into the mix (by hand of course) for the first time to impress some bigwigs and that became part of the mix going forward. Of course that meant we had to scrub that wax off, dry and then wax again every week.

[Crux]

Thinking about that, I totally blew my first big job interview after I got out. The interviewer asked what was the one thing I disliked the most about subs and I told her scrubbing the deck. I immediately saw on her face I was toast.

[JD Spydo]

What's really interesting is what they have done with the word/subject "TITANIUM" from a marketing aspect. With most of the public dum as a brick about metals in general they have over the years made claims about Titanium with products ranging from cutlery to belt buckles to kitchen wares that would have you to believe that they must be getting it from another planet. When in reality Titanium has been used in the aircraft industry for decades along with dozens of medical applications. In one sense you could describe Titanium as a "Super Aluminum" in many respects mainly because of it's relatively light weight and anti-corrosive properties.

As I stated earlier I like it for knife handles far better than I do any other pure metal handle. Back in the 1980s when I was heavily into distance running and racing bicycles a good friend of mine had a Schwinn bike with a Titanium frame which cost him over $1800 :eek: . Frankly I was intrigued by it but when you got down to bare knuckles it really didn't have a lot of advantages over my Takara bike that had a Crome-Moly frame. I actually beat him most of the time in races. So why was his bike worth $1400 more than mine was? It's all marketing claims that are highly exaggerated IMO.

This is coming from a guy who likes Titanium for a wide range of uses>> but the bottom line here is really all of the fake marketing hype that we currently see about Titanium. Many companies selling products made with titanium would like you to believe that it's a futuristic, space age, high tech metal when in reality it is better in many respects but not even close to many of the claims they make about it :rolleyes: .

[Crux]

I agree as there are titanium products out there that are worse as a result.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Crux and Skull and anyone else, since you are familiar with both the submarines and titanium I want your views on a claim I read and heard of:

In the literature and internet claims about "top secret black budget technologies" there has been a claim floating around over the years that goes like this: The idea is that the Soviet scientists during the Cold war came up with a way to use special electromagnetic frequencies to somehow cause the bonds of metal and other atoms to break at room temperature, thus room temperature melting of metal, without heat. Supposedly, according to the claims, this was witnessed by engineers, and then what they would do is use it to make thick titanium hulled submarines like you mentioned, and the claim is that this allowed them to make those titanium sub marine hulls. Supposedly they would melt the metal, pour it into molds, and then after a time the effect would wear off and the metal would reharden. The idea is that this technology would revolutionize metallurgy and manufacturing but it is kept secret.

How realistic is such a technology and could it be kept secret this long, or, would the technological applications and potential money making be so great as to guarantee that such a process would have been commercialized and mass produced?

A related claim by the way, and I would appreciate your insights on this, too, is that the Russians during the Cold War/Soviet era also developed a way to mass produce diamond fibers/whiskers in bulk quantities, as in tons, and have been sitting on this technology and that they have vaults full of synthetic diamond gems that they have threatened to release onto the global market if things don't go their way, and thus cause the cost of diamond to drop through the floor.

[Crux]

I don't think I mentioned anything in regard to hull thickness, but I do know that the Soviet Union had by far the largest deposits of titanium in the world and that was an issue that people above my pay grade seemed very concerned about. I was a sonarman which meant knowing everything about Soviet subs and ships was part of the job. If you really want to know the things I can't say then grab a copy of Jane's Fighting Ships. We always had one onboard.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I don't think I mentioned anything in regard to hull thickness, but I do know that the Soviet Union had by far the largest deposits of titanium in the world and that was an issue that people above my pay grade seemed very concerned about. I was a sonarman which meant knowing everything about Soviet subs and ships was part of the job. If you really want to know the things I can't say then grab a copy of Jane's Fighting Ships. We always had one onboard.

Thank you! Those Janes books are very detailed and very well-put together. I found one with pages and pages of data and full-color pictures of personal weapons such as various firearms and also knives and field equipment.

I don't want you to mention anything you cannot say, I understand that, but, did you ever see or have encounters with sharks out there? I looked up this thing called the "Cookie Cutter shark" and it is a small shark fish that has razor sharp circular-set teeth and they would attack the rubber on certain submarine components, though not the steel obviously.

[Crux]

I never heard of it but there was little if any rubber for such a shark to attack (maybe gaskets for the periscopes). I did record the "Boing Fish" for hours on end and even today no one knows what it is. One day while I was on the main sonar I started to hear a voice. I steered over to focus on the sound and I clearly heard my name being called. I can't begin to tell you how freaked out I got and obviously no one believed me and laughed. I found out later it was a friend of mine who crawled forward into the torpedo room so that he could shout at the forward hydrophones. I'm glad I found out or I'd be telling this tale as true to this day.