A question about micarta

H

Hesparus

Joined
Oct 31, 2004
Messages
1,442
I have heard a lot of people talking about how unsafe micarta is to work with. But once it's all polished up, how safe is it? Clearly it's safe enough to be used in things that you touch with your hands (i.e. knife handles), but what about something you'd put in your mouth? I ask because I think it would be cool to have a set of micarta chopsticks. What do you think the chances are of, under normal temperatures, the resin in the micarta comming off in your mouth?
Thanks,
Chris
 
Just a few seconds of grinding Micarta on my beltgrinder can fill my shop with the dust....

Just looking at the stuff floating in the air is enough to prove to me that it's good I got my breathing mask on and the shop doors open.
I got no idea what the goverment says about Micarta dust, but I bet it's nasty stuff to breath.
On the other hand, once you get it all buffed up and finished, Micarta is about the best handle material there is .

However...sticking it in my mouth?.....naaah..not this kid
 
It should be completely fine unless you use it for very hot food, then you might have a bit of trouble, but the epoxy resin is chemically inert for well nigh anything you'd encounter in food.
 
The fine dust is the problem. Just like any other fine dust, really, they're all bad for you. It should be very stable once you're done working it. Something as thin as a chopstick might be awful fragile in micarta, but I doubt there's a health issue with it.
 
howiesatwork said:
It will soak up oils, so it's not a good candidate for chopsticks.
Think Titanium...
Click to expand...

My Thoughts exactly.

Regarding dust, your typical Micarta is Phenolic resin and paper, linen, canvas, etc. I'm not sure that it is particularly hazardous, beyond the obvious.

I would worry more about microscopic ceramic fibers blowing around the shop ever time you bump or rake the inside of your forge with your workpiece. Folks breath that stuff and don't think much of it and it's a "probable carcinogen".
 
JCaswell said:
. Folks breath that stuff and don't think much of it and it's a "probable carcinogen".
Click to expand...

10 years ago I was helping a co-worker paint the side of a building.
We were useing an air sprayer and so we had masks on so we would not be breathing the paint in.

I went around the corner for a while, and when I came back I noticed that my friend had made a little change to his mask.

He had cut a little round hole in it, and this allowed him to smoke while he painted....
 
Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll do some experimenting and let you know how it goes.

- Chris
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top