60 Nitinol PM for Knife Blades

60 Nitinol PM Blade Material

Manufacturer: Crucible

60 NiTiNOL PM is a Nickel-Titanium alloy which uses about 60% Nickel. NiTiNOL stands for Nickel Titanium Naval Ordinance Laboratory, named after the place it was discovered in 1962. 60 Nitinol PM is just one of many Nitinol alloys, with the 60 referring to the nickel content, and the PM standing for Powder Metallurgy.

What makes 60 Nitinol PM remarkable besides its inherent RC 65 hardness is that it is a shape memory alloy. This means that when the Nitinol blade is deformed from bending or stressing, applying heat to it above it's transformation temperature will return it to it's original shape. The phenomenon is called martensitic transformation. When the Tinitol is at a temperature above its transformation temperature, it is superelastic, which means that it will return to its original shape immediately after bending or deforming.

60 Nitinol has been patented on February 29, 1006 by Nitinol Technologies (US Patent 7005018), and invented by Gerald J Julien. Crucible was the first to manufacture this material in a production environment and has introduced it to the market with Strider. Currently, Nitinol is only available on Strider knives and run in the $2000 range.

Strider does not mention the shape memory properties of the material, but simple states that Nitinol is extremely corrosion resistant, lightweight, non-magnetic and high strength.

Fabrication of Nitinol Materials and Components PDF

Composition

Ti	Ni
40%	60%