Do harder steels release lower metal fragments in food than softer steel blades?
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Tethien
Well-Known Member
I would think so since harder steels wear less, but I’ve also heard that softer steels edges could roll over. But I would probably pick a harder steel if that really is a concern
Wouldn’t think so… what you want is a “tough” steel, not a hard steel. Hard steels that aren't tough enough will tend to microchip in use (hence put metal in your food) rather than deform.
If this is a concern, though, use a higher angle while sharpening and you won't have to worry as much about the steel.
If this is a concern, though, use a higher angle while sharpening and you won't have to worry as much about the steel.
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sumis
Senior Member
i have no clue, but: what's the concern?
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Kippington
A small green parrot
Some are saying in the forums that Nickel is toxic and Cobalt carcinogenic:
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/seven-substances-added-14th-report-carcinogens
I worry about the survival of our species.
it all adds up in the end!
You are not consume them in pure form, Nickel alloyed steel is the most common form of stainless steel, include in all the all clad pans, surgical equipment and utensils
What about cobalt used in blades such as VG-10... it was recently listed as a carcinogen (this was taken from another knife forum)
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As an alloying element the chance of them leaking into your food is extremely low, even if you consume the chip, it will likely just go through your digestive system due to the inert properties of the alloy, I’d be more worried about large chips could potentially damage my throat.
In what volumes over what periods?
Well, considering there are 2,300 mg of salt in a teaspoon... and the average human should consume less than 1.4mg of cobalt per day (foods sources of cobalt are bound to protein so much safer though).... a couple of knife shavings off the bevel in home cooked meal over a year would add up over time, along with all the other hazards encountered in day-to-day life
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I work with arsenic powder, hydrofluoric acid, lead, and a bunch of high purity metals to include cobalt and nickel and lots of other neat stuff. All highly regulated with abundant safety protocols and oversight.
You have to understand what "consume" means in each case. Can your body readily absorb it through the digestive system? If you sit down and gnaw on 5mg of 5NCo, how much of that will pass through you vs. stay inside of you?
I've never been concerned about what my knife blade may leave behind in my food. Ever. I'm still not.
You do you.
You have to understand what "consume" means in each case. Can your body readily absorb it through the digestive system? If you sit down and gnaw on 5mg of 5NCo, how much of that will pass through you vs. stay inside of you?
I've never been concerned about what my knife blade may leave behind in my food. Ever. I'm still not.
You do you.
I work with arsenic powder, hydrofluoric acid, lead, and a bunch of high purity metals to include cobalt and nickel and lots of other neat stuff. All highly regulated with abundant safety protocols and oversight.
You have to understand what "consume" means in each case. Can your body readily absorb it through the digestive system? If you sit down and gnaw on 5mg of 5NCo, how much of that will pass through you vs. stay inside of you?
I've never been concerned about what my knife blade may leave behind in my food. Ever. I'm still not.
You do you.
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Wait till you find how damaging oxygen is to your body...
We’re being trolled, right?
#1 cause of oxidation worldwide!
Oxidation ruins everything.
I think its important to note cobalt is routinely used in surgical metal on metal surgical implants where some metal does where off and get absorbed into your body. Given that I would guess the actual carcinogenic effect are relatively mild probably cause your body does a relatively poor job absorbing cobalt metal (cobalt compounds can be pretty nasty). I can't imagine that 1% of the already small amount of steel released into your food is going to cause any meaningful difference.
Mine would be physical not chemical: chips mean some sharp bit has gone into my board… or into my food… my mouth… my gut… my bloodstream… my MRI machine… my coffin.
I would ask a friend to paw through my ashes to check for chips and report back here, but I wouldn’t want them to nick themselves.
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Mate, I asked a simple question, and only elaborated once someone queried. If you don't like it feel free to move on.
Not sure why you are taking this so seriously. I certainly don't.
You have a MRI machine?!
That one percent is mostly near the cutting edge though isn't it?
The mixture food and heavy mucus would protect it, to some extent... but wouldn't want to munch on a sharp chip which could lodge in the roof of my mouth
Nope, it is 1.3-1.5% evenly distributed in the steel matrix. So 1.3-1.5% of the weight of any chips you eat is cobalt. So probably not a big risk.
Yes, totally at the edge. Nowhere near the rest of the blade. #gravity
I'm pretty sure most steels are not homogeneous in terms of composition...
Wait you are serious… While there are carbide cluster there and here, in general alloyed elements are distributed amongst the whole steel, with powdered metallurgy they are very even. There’s no way some of the alloy elements just appear only in one part of the steel, unless the knife is made from 2 completely different steels. It’s kind like mixing a cake batter, there’s no way all the eggs are only appearing at the surface
It depends on what scale you are talking about. In this case at the scale chipping happens they are more or less homogenous, especially with an element like Cobalt that does not form carbides.
