My materials science professor always used ring as an example in intro to matse classes of what not to do with titanium.
His point was that if you ever get into an accident and the first responders have to cut your ring for whatever reason (MRI machine, etc.), literally none of their tools would be able to do that on a titanium ring. None of the tools in hospital would work either. It may not always be feasible to pull it out the usual way.
"His point was that if you ever get into an accident and the first responders have to cut your ring for whatever reason (MRI machine, etc.), literally none of their tools would be able to do that on a titanium ring"
As a somewhat-experienced jeweler, titanium is not terribly-difficult to work. It's a pain to solder and weld (I use it for wire-wrapping in various gauges,) but cutting it is relatively easy, a good pair of hardened-steel thick wire cutters will absolutely shear it.
I got Tungsten Carbide rings for that reason (and they happen to also be extremely inexpensive). They’re very hard (scratch resistant) in everyday use, but also quite brittle and easy to shatter to remove
if needed for a finger injury.
Titanium is more flexible and softer than steel. It also has a similar melting temperature.
I've heard it's just harder to machine because it's more flexible so it tends to bend away from the cutting tools, as far as I understand. Not because it's so strong. But I don't know much about machining so this is second-hand knowledge.
It's just a hell of a lot lighter than steel which is why it's so great for cutting-edge aviation stuff. It's much stronger than aluminium. It's the strength/weight combo that makes it special.
