Dropped my HDS 170T...

...and the titanium bezel has a couple of dings/nicks in it??? What gives? I thought this stuff was nearly indestructible?

The flashlight slipped out of my hand and fell onto the street (concrete/asphalt) from about three feet. I was mid stride and subsequently kicked the light about eight feet. The rest of the light seems fine, but I was really surprised to see the ding/nicks. The titanium certainly doesn't seem to hold up the way I thought it should - maybe I just am misinformed about titanium, but I thought it was the "superman" of metals???

I'm not certain, but I think it's more about how friendly ti is to being sanded, shaped, buffed back into shape? Bummer - sorry that this happened to you!

I know everyone likes to keep their new tools/knives/flashlights looking new but time and circumstances will eventually take their toll on your gear. Think of scratches and nicks as badges of EDC honor. After carrying my Ra Clicky 140 for about 2 years it certainly doesn't look new at all - the anodizing is worn in many places and I have nicks and bumps on the light as well, but hey, the light still works and I'm still happy.

Titanium untreated (or unmixed with other alloys) can be softer than stainless steel. Of course there are many variables like heat treating, coatings, mixed with different alloys, etc... There is also the variable of how pure the Ti is as well. In my experience with watches (I've owned many both Ti and SS, and some treated some not) is that untreated Ti scratches and scuffs easier than SS. Something like TiN/TiC (Nitride treated Ti or Carbide treated Ti) is even harder than sapphire or just shy of being as hard as diamond. Only the coating is this hard though once breached it's just plain old Ti.

Concrete/asphalt is full of minerals some of which are harder than Ti. I would expect a Ti light to ding and nick when it fell. I would also expect anything I own to do the same thing, besides my wifes diamond ring maybe

The two most useful properties of titanium are corrosion resistance and the high strength-to-weight ratio. Titanium is harder to scratch than steel, scoring 6.0 on the Mohrs Hardness scale compared to the 4 - 4.5 of steel. Titanium oxidises easily and the surface dulls. The oxidized coating is less strong and darker than the metal beneath, therefor, scratches are more visible. I can speak from my own experience with titanium wedding rings. Mine was strong and light but scratched easily. In contrast, my Tungsten carbide ring is five years old and looks the same as the day I bought it. Of course is weighs three times as much as the titanium one but that is a small price to pay for an unscratched ring. Tungsten carbide is approximately three times stiffer than steel and scores around 8.5 on the Mohrs Hardness scale.

Don't feel bad, just banging around with keys & knives in my pocket nick up my lights.

Capt. Nemo said:

...and the titanium bezel has a couple of dings/nicks in it??? What gives? I thought this stuff was nearly indestructible?

The flashlight slipped out of my hand and fell onto the street (concrete/asphalt) from about three feet. I was mid stride and subsequently kicked the light about eight feet. The rest of the light seems fine, but I was really surprised to see the ding/nicks. The titanium certainly doesn't seem to hold up the way I thought it should - maybe I just am misinformed about titanium, but I thought it was the "superman" of metals???

Click to expand...

Awesome! The HDS survives yet another torture test:

-EMP
-direct hit from .380acp
-drop kick down the street!

I'm pretty sure titanium is softer than most steels out there...

Yes you were mis-informed. I thought the same thing until I was researching knife metals and learned real fast I knew very little about the properties of metals. As others have pointed out, titanium has certain properties that make it better in certain circumstances. This may not be one of those depending on how you use your light.

There are different grades of titanium as well. I have a titanium hammer, and although it's stronger than it's counterparts the striking surface is a replaceable metal head

For me, it is form follows function - so I hardly bother about scratches and dings, which are an integral part of "using" a tool. As long as the light functions flawlessly, you are good to go. And mind you, the HDS is robust, and can survive worse falls than a mere 3 feet dip. Not everyone is built tough - my jetbeam jet-I pro was driver-damaged with a 4 feet fall, which I had never expected. And for a $70 light, this was highly unacceptable. My HDS is a $99 light, and takes an order of magnitude more beating than any other light I have handled (except the honorable mention of my Peak Eiger in SS, and Arc-P AAA).

So enjoy your light, and make it your own - the scars and bruises have a story to tell.

If you're having light problems, I feel bad for you, son.

enomosiki said:

If you plan on actually carrying and using the light, then a nick is trivial compared to what is to come. I carry my lights every day and the weathered look with worn-out anodizing gives them much more rugged look and feel--like prestige that can only be gained with time and usage.

Look at this Quark AA Tactical;

It does NOT sit inside a shelf, rotting itself away due to lack of USE.

It does NOT need to look pretty because it is not a decoration.

It has PROVEN itself to be able to stand up to ABUSE and I know that it will not quit on me before I say so.

This is NOT a puppy that keeps you amused--when this dog barks it means it has a JOB to do.

When I feed it fresh batteries it is because it has EARNED it.

THIS, gentlemen, is a MAN'S light.

Click to expand...

I got 99 problems but a dent ain't one.

Seriously, the "indestructibility" of HDS is owed to the fact that the light will continue to function even after repeated and brutal abuses, and not how it's made out of adamantium and look shiny for eternity.

I paid nearly $400 for a customized L1, but I don't baby it. Nope, I carry that thing with my, every day, and beat the living crap out of it, because I hate nothing more than a shelf-queen. Its anodizing is peeling off already, and I haven't even had it for a month.



Do you see that tank? I guarantee you that its got all sorts of dents and scrapes on it, (hell, I can even see some rust as well) yet it does everything its supposed to do, flawlessly. Your light is no different.

Just think of that dent as one of many battle scars to come. Don't be ashamed of it; WEAR IT WITH PRIDE.

I use and carry all my lights. My HDS tag teams with my Gladius for primary duty use, and both are well used (scratched, dented, etc).

I guess I was just surprised to see how easily the Ti dented, when I perceived it to used it this application for how resistant it was for being dented, dinged, nicked, etc.

Capt. Nemo said:

...and the titanium bezel has a couple of dings/nicks in it??? What gives? I thought this stuff was nearly indestructible?

Click to expand...

I thought the bezel was stainless steel with an AlTiN (Aluminum/Titanium Nitride) coating. If so, the coating will aid in scratch and corrosion resistance, but with it being only a .0002" thick coating it will not aid in "ding/nick" protection.