I was at a fishing flea market this weekend and was asked about titannium guides corroding in use in salt water. The guy told how he bought some rods and the guides have corrosion on them. Are titanium guides corrosion proof ?????

thanks for the help

Pretty much, yes. So what he found out, is that his rod isn't really sporting titanium guides. Or at least guides with some sort of alloy containing not so much titanium and very much something else.

..................

OR - they are titanium colored. Some guides are described like that.
Herb

BACKGROUND article:
[www.azom.com]


Pretty much the bottom line is = If the guides are titanium and NOT titanium plated they should not corrode.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2015 09:17AM by Ken Preston.

Funny thing, every time I tell someone to use Titanium they think I'm trying to "sell" them our most expensive guide. And I constantly read about how outrageous the price is. Case Study: I fish inshore salt 99% of the time. I build with Titanium because I can. I mis-treat all my gear on purpose because I need to know what the product is up against. I carry 6 rods at a time in one hand from the house to the truck. I lean them up against counter tops and table edges where they ultimately slap the floor. I always manage to smack a guide or two against the boat gunwale when walking a Skitterwalk with my tip down, and I invariably smack a Power Pole or a motor housing on a back cast at least three times a day. I jam tips against door frames trying to get them back in the house. I rake guides against ceilings, and walls and corners and I lean rods in the corner for days (sometimes weeks) before putting them back in a rod rack. I NEVER rinse a rod or reel (although I admit I spray a little Shimano reel oil I found in Japan on a few key spots on each reel - amazing stuff!). I've got traces of fish slime and a scale or two on almost every split grip rod I fish and on windy days in a chop these rods (and I) are misted with saltwater spray way more than most would consider comfortable. Many of these rods are pushing 5 years old AND NOT ONE SINGLE TITANIUM GUIDE SHOWS ANY SIGN OF CORROSION OF ANY KIND. From the looks of things, they are going to last a long, long time and I can't count the hours I've saved NOT washing rods. If you fish saltwater and you're in search of the best "TOOL" for the job, there are no other options.

I would second Jim's post. Solid titanium frames are well worth the extra coin. I would also add that the titanium guide prices these days may be far more reasonable than many people remember from 5 or 10 years ago.

-The Batson TEAM
BatsonEnterprises.com

And the Fuji's are the better ones

Bill - willierods.com

Then everytime I have a fuji tiptop with corrosion, I should ask for my money back? The tube is not titanium as far as I know unless things have changed really recently, and heard it was due to something about inability to weld titanium? Can you clarify this Jim? I have had a few show corrosion even with daily washings and never saw anything from fuji saying it wasn't full titanium.

I always herd the fuji were the only tops that were titanium ???? If a store rod who knows what was used
Just went to there site and fuji lists some tops as Titainumn frame and Plated Frame

maybe Jim will clarify this for us

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2015 08:33AM by bill boettcher.

thanks for the help if i get these rods to reguide i will take a guide into work and the one guy i the QC department goes fishing with me and has put guides on a machine that tell % of alloys he has done it before and the fuji tip we did was a good stainless steel.

The complex nature of titanium welding is one of the reasons that PacBay does not currently offer a solid titanium top. That being said, it is done extensively in other industries and there are several grades of commercially pure and alloyed titanium that can be welded successfully. Below is a quote from an online resource regarding titanium welding that I feel gives a good summary of the process. There are several other easily searchable resources online that go into extensive detail.

"Generally, titanium is welded by gas-tungsten arc (GTA) or plasma-arc techniques. Metal inert-gas processes can be used under special conditions. Thorough cleaning and shielding are essential because molten titanium reacts with nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen, and will dissolve large quantities of these gases, which embrittles the metal. In all other respects, GTA welding of titanium is similar to that of stainless steel. Normally, a sound weld appears bright silver with no discoloration on the surface or along the heat-affected zone."

-The Batson TEAM
BatsonEnterprises.com

The complex nature of titanium welding is one of the reasons that PacBay does not currently offer a solid titanium top.

Ok
If Fuji does it Why is PacBay unable to do it They have not had a solid Ti top for years

Bill - willierods.com

Bill,
To date, we simply have not acquired the equipment or developed the production process necessary to build a welded solid Ti top. This is partly because of the complexity and expense involved with developing the process vs. our perceived demand for the product. It is also partly due to other projects we deem more essential being given priority. Titanium guides are much less of an issue as they are made with the same tooling as steel guides and require only minor adjustments in processing. It's possible that PacBay used to make a solid Ti top or sourced one somewhere. However, I have not seen samples or items numbers during my time here. I hope this answers your question.

-The Batson TEAM
BatsonEnterprises.com