About a year ago I posted how to make an open end hook keeper I designed using stainless steel wire. [rodbuilding.org] Look at this original post and pictures to see how to make these keepers.
Since a number of people do not use hook keepers because of rust/corrosion problems, I wanted to share my recent experience using titanium wire in lieu of stainless wire. I tried a number of pure titanium grade 1 wires and all were too soft for my liking. I finally tried titanium welding wire grade 2 that worked very well. [www.amazon.com]
It bends very easily but is still strong enough to maintain its shape once bent to shape. I tried heating it red hot in a flame to try to make it harder by tempering, but not sure it it helped. Heating caused oxidation which buffed off quite easily. The wire comes with a matte gray finish that can be shined up by buffing; I used a Dremel tool. You can buff the wire before or after bending. I recently put these hook keepers on a number of my rods and took some inshore saltwater fishing this past week in Florida. The keepers held up very well. In fact I placed a few keepers in saltwater for an entire week and I found no sign of corrosion.
The titanium welding wire I used came in 3’ lenghs with 10 pieces for a total of 30’ for $15. I was able to make 15 keepers per piece for a grand total of 150 keepers. So each keeper costs 10 cents to make. Hope this will be of some interest to those of you that use hook keepers.

Norm



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/2017 11:47AM by Norman Miller.

I did this about 2 years ago with titanium wire welding rods and got the sane results with the oxidation after heating and quenching. I did 1 piece loops. Basically just did it to see if it were possible but did not pursue it like you. I need to make a small jig and get an anvil and couple of other things. It will work and you did great R & D and yours look good. Thanks you have inspired me Norman.

Norman: Do you think a handy rod-builder could use tubular mandrels and form snake guides out of titanium welding rod? I love your do-it-yourself hook keeper method.

Phil: Thanks. Not sure if the titanium welding rod would work or not. For a hook keeper it works quite well since it’s only duty is to hold a hook securely in place while you are not fishing. Not sure how it would perform as a snake guide guide. It certainly would be easy enough to test. There are a number of different types of titanium wire in different gauges on the market, and I have no idea which would perform the best for making snake guides. I am still wanting to try some other types of titanium wire to see if any of them have the characteristics I am looking for. As I mentioned above the pure grade 1 titanium wire is just too soft for my liking. The type 2 titanium is harder and not nearly as soft, but it still bends quite easily. There is also some titanium wire used for making jewelry and it may be harder than what I am using. I have read that titanium wire can be heat tempered to make it harder, I tried to heat temper both the grade 1 & 2 wire, but not sure if I succeeded. I have also read that titanium can be easily anodized to create different colors.
Norm

What grade titanium wire is used for spinnerbaits? It's very stiff.

I understand pure titanium is nasty stuff: expensive and very difficult to shape. Ti plated guides only offer a couple of thousandths of vapor-deposited titanium over a base metal. Snake guides are extremely simple objects: a 3/4 turn and flat feet. I hope someone discovers the "secret" Ti alloy in the right diameter wire to make snake guides. They would add to a truly "custom" rod build.

The titanium wire used for spinnerbaits and recoil guides is a nickel titanium alloy also known as nitinol which has shape memory properties. Nitinol also comes in a number of different grades, each with different properties. From what I understand this wire can be formed into a certain shape and when heated and quenched under controlled conditions will ‘remember’ this shape after deformation. The titanium wire (grades 1 and 2) I have used for making my keepers is considered commercially pure titanium (CPTi) and is better than 99% pure. I just bought some grade 5 titanium welding wire to try for my keepers. This grade 5 titanium wire is about 90% pure but is stronger than the grades 1 and 2 and can be heat treated to increase strength and hardness, and is still very corrosion resistant. Titanium and nitinol are not ‘nasty stuff’ and are used for making a lot of medical devices and implants because of is relative inertness and biocompatibility. The pure titanium I have used is easy to shape and reasonably priced.
Norm

Norman,
Everyone on this site benefits from your input, and this is certainly no exception. Thank you for continually sharing!!!

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Bought the suggested welding rods, bent them like you did in your directions, and now I've got some nice looking titanium hook keepers. Thanks!