The point is to save the traveler a few ounces, even if those ounces come at a price well above filet mignon. Mr. Wire discovered the metal as a student at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. He has since made furniture, even musical instruments, from titanium. The metal, he says, possesses a sound as distinctive as its appearance. When heard over the telephone, the music of a tubular titanium instument sounds not unlike the song of the humpback whale.
Raw titanium occurs in a sponge-like form and is silver white in color.
But when oxidized the metal takes on a distinctive opalecent, violet-blue surface, suggesting New Age as much as Space Age. The oxidized look, prized in jewelery, is obtained by anodizing the metal by dipping it in an electrified solution. The quality of the surface varies with the thickness of the oxide, Mr. Wire said, which in turn varies with the voltage applied. Mr. Wire uses the solvent ammonium sulfate. Others turn to Coca-Cola and its phosphoric acid.