So I'm new to the Bladeforums (and the knife community!) and was wondering, I recently got a Buck knife that has the California Prop 65 warning on the box, and I'm pretty sure it's because of lead, as it has brass bolsters and pins on the handle. I was wondering how dangerous the lead is in the brass? If I'm handling the knife how easily will the lead leach out onto my hands (especially with sweaty/wet hands etc)? Would I need to wash them after handling? And would the knife be food-safe e.g. cutting food or food packaging?
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Are brass knife bolsters dangerous?
- Thread starter AngryKid
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Ajack60
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There's not enough lead in the knife to affect your health. It won't leech out onto your hand, it won't contaminate food. Drinking fountains at one time were lead lined, older houses still have copper solder joints that contain lead. If any product is suspected of containing lead, then the warning sticker, by law has to be applied or listed. It may be that a part of the bolsters are soldered that contains lead. Brass in itself is a copper and zinc which may contain small/trace amounts of lead. I doubt the brass produced today has any lead in it or it is such a small amount that it's not harmful.
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There are a number of common chemicals which have been proven to cause cancer or birth defects, especially in sufficient dosage. California Proposition 65 mandates that any item sold in California which contains sufficient levels of any of those chemicals to cause cancer or birth defects must be so labelled. Howsoever, it's easier to put a prop 65 sticker on an item or a door than it is to determine how much of the toxin is actually in the item. So there are stickers on all sorts of things which aren't actually toxic because it is cheaper to add a sticker than it is to determine the actual chemical content. Since Buck does not know where the knife will end up being sold, every knife gets a sticker.
Californians have learned to ignore the stickers. Only the non-cognoscenti experience "sticker shock" over it.
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