Allergies overnight! Cocobolo Kingwood

W

Walt Campbell

Joined
Jun 17, 2000
Messages
9
Anyone have any allergic reactions to the exotic hardwoods? Here is my story:

I used cocobolo and kingwood for years. Never had a problem, and was never allergic to anything. Then one evening, after grinding on some cocobolo in the shop, my wife commented that my eyes looked a little swelled. Well, before morning I looked like Mr. McGoo. Then the itching started, all over my body. No hives, but in any area of the body where there was tender skin, the skin turned red and started to shed. (wrists, inside of elbows, face, forehead, scalp, and worst of all........the crotch!

Now I have had some things that itch before, but buddy.......this was miserable! For two weeks it was work a bit, then scratch the nads a bit. I was unsure of what was the cause, and slowly eliminated one thing after another until I discovered it was the cocobolo. I rubbed a bit of the dust on my wrist to perform a test for allergic reaction, and within an hour I was swelled and itching.

A month later, I worked some kingwood, and had the same thing all over again! Everywhere, and another two full weeks to regain health. I guess the two woods are in the same family.

I have talked with some people that make hardwood pens that have had similar reactions. If you are working with these woods, I suggest using all precautions available to remove any dust from the air before it has a chance to get on you.

Walt
 
Welcome to the world. If I inserted the word "Rosewood", I would have the same story. With Rose wood though, it gets worse with each exposure. I did a little research and found it is not unusual. I love Rosewood and will try to continue to use it....but even with a lot of protective equipment it is getting to me. The worst part is that it seems to have activated other alergies. I have never had problems before but now I seem to be sneezing and eyes running all the time.
 
Believe there was a column by Wayne Goddard in Blade, around a year ago, about various kinds of wood which cause allergies to those working with them. I seem to recall some guidelines for working with such woods.


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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
Hey Walt. I heard that Cocobolo and Kingwood have the same posions in them as poison ivy and poison oak. My granddad burned a big pile of poison oak and it killed him. Nasty stuff. I can pull poison oak or ivy off a tree with my bare hands and it does not bother me, but I've been told you may do that for years and one time for no reason it will start bothering you. After that, each time you are exposed to it it will bother you more. I would go with Phillip and find another wood to work with. There ain't a knife out there worth that. Rosewood and African Black wood are suposed to be very bad. A man in Pageland S.C. was cutting up some African Blackwood on a table saw (a bunch of it) a couple years ago. The wood had a fungus in it that he did not know about. He was dead in six months! When I rough grind my handles, I wear a full face shield resp. and am fully covered no matter how hot it is outside. I take no chances with that stuff. Hope this helped some, sorry to be so negative, but this is nothing to play with. Mark
 
Thank you all for your replies. I have not worked with either of the woods since they "zapped" me, and believe me, I avoid them like the plague! I won't even handle or repolish any of the knives I previously made that had either of these woods. I now use other woods and materials, and hope I don't get the same symptoms from another wood.

Walt
 
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