Titanium fly rod guides

[Andy]

I have to replace some of the Titanium Nitride guides on fly rods I built a few years back. I thought the tip-tops grooved rather easily.

Now I see Titanium Carbide guides advertised. Anyone know how these two materials compare with each other?

 

[JeffK]

Both are super hard ceramics and I am surprised if they grooved easily. Where they ceramic inserts in a frame or were they a thin coating on a metal substrate? The problem may have been the coating not the material. For example, the gold coating on drill bits is titanium nitride and that coating goes through a lot more wear and abuse than a fly rod guide should. Maybe the flyrod guides have such a thin vapor deposited coating that it is not effective? That is a design issue and not a material issue.

 

[Andy]

JeffK:

I guess it must be a coating issue like you say. I'm going to order the Titanium Carbide replacements and hope for the best.