I was thinking about buys a few titanium tools to lighten my tool kit a bit. Maybe not this week.
Check it: http://buy.titanium.com/cco_catalog
I put together a tool kit with basically all of their hand tools, came out to $16,000. Woof.

martinfocazio:

I think you have been doing too much flying around in aircraft where the air is too thin and the food is not nourishing.

I haven't paid over $1,000.00 for a car in the past 20 years let alone a set of tools.

You've got to get a job close to home where you can bicycle past a lot, a whole lot, a major grove, a large forest, think Amazon rain forest of oxygen producing trees and bring your mind back to earth.

Bountyhunter
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Hmm, are you EDC'ing tools (I have carried a couple in the past when I was a PC/Server/Laptop/Printer repair tech so its not that unusual), other than that I don't see the need for tools to be that lightweight.

Damn... Wrench $365...

Matt

Remember guys, people don't generally buy Ti tools because they are lightweight.

They are usually used around MRIs and NMRs because they aren't magnetic. Steel tools do bad things in strong magnetic fields.

Greg

Well there is a reason for everything... right tool for the right job...

Matt

That's exactly what's happened. I tucked a 6" crecent wrench into the back of my Nite-Ize pouch and while it's getting lots of use, it's not exactly lighweight!

Greg is right about the strong magnetic fields. I took a Leatherman Micra into the MRI room by accident. I felt something tugging on my pants leg, and noticed the cargo pocket on my ems style pants heading toward the magnet. I excused myself and finished unloading my pockets.
The MRI techs had a really impressive picture of a wheelchair stuck inside the magnet.

Don't forget about the environmental impact of producing titanium.

Is it worse than steel? Glass? Concrete? uranium?

Seriously, is it that bad, and where is it described or compared?

Rather than it scaring the landscape in mining or releasing noxious gases in reducing it, it is the huge amounts of energy needed that harm the environment. Just think of all those hydrocarbons <img src="images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />.

My apologies for being dense, but does this answer the question about which useful substance is more harmful or wasteful or energy intensive to acquire and process?

Titanium is normally found partnered with some other element, so whenever you refine it there is a lot of leftovers. The most common refining process uses chlorine, magnesium, and lots and lots of electricity. Is it any worst than other materials, depends on the application. If you are using a high nickel alloy (for heat or corrosion resistance) and a titanium part lasts several times longer in use, then titanium has less of an environmental impact as well as being more economical.

And on a personal note, i would much rather have a set of lightweight titanium wrenches than a set of titanium golf clubs.

In conjunction with the warm weather equipment thread, there is one other desired quality that Ti tools have other than light weight. They don't rust when you sweat on them or when they sit next to a wet shirt/towel in your carry bag.

Having ruined more than one steel tool in that manner, there is an advantage to being rust proof. I noticed the other day that my Leatherman Squirt (which I keep on my keychain in my front pocket) is getting some rust in places, from sweat condensing on it. Time to oil the tools again...

Greg