Blade toxicity

k1ssthecook said:
Some metals can leech into food, and aren't used as a direct cooking surface (aluminum/tin) but that is usually only when heated, and with continued use. I do know that should a teflon coating on a pot start to flake off, that it should be immediately discarded. The effects of both metal and teflon poisoning will kill animals and give you flu like symptoms.

Since we don't know exactly what materials and chemicals are on a coated blade, I would not use them for food prep. The last thing you want is to make your family sick, or expose them to an unknown carcinogen.

I carry an Esee 6 in my hunting pack for utility purposes, but use my stainless steel knife for skinning and cleaning game.
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This is how I feel. I try to keep the amount of random chemicals in my body to a minimum. Other than the immediate health risks like teflon described above, I don't think anyone has ever done any testing to see if powder coat etc is cancer causing. Maybe you have to eat the whole knife to give you cancer, maybe just a pin prick can cause it, or maybe it does nothinig to your system. It's up to each person how much risk they want to take. I personally steer clear of the coatings. Besides, bare steel looks better. :D
 
brownshoe said:
Small children eat and chew everything and live long lives. We've all eaten paint, dirt, pens, plastic, etc. The human body is wonderful thing and you won't die or be affected by the few molecules of a kife coating that may come off in your food...trust me I'm a scientist :)
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Asbestos was thought to be harmless too. You want to breathe some of that in do ya? ;)
 
Acid foods should not be cooked in aluminum pots as the aluminum is dissolved. Stainless steel or titanium is still the best for cooking
Teflon pans should not beput on a fire without something in it as overheating produces toxins. Knives are not a problem unless they are coated and the coating flakes off.
 
Shotgun said:
Asbestos was thought to be harmless too. You want to breathe some of that in do ya? ;)
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I used to have an asbestos pendant I wore.
It was great fun to see the freaked reactions of people to what it was (it was in mineral form; just don't sand the fibers off and breathe them).

People worry about just about everything...and then die from a worry induced heart attack. ;)
 
iwouldhurtafly said:
However, I do not think it would be a good business practice for a knife company to knowingly coat a knife in a possible toxic substance when there is a possibility that the knife could come into contact with food. I am sure there has to have been a conversation when a knife company is deciding on a coating on whether it is toxic or not. Who knows maybe not, maybe they are trying to kill us.
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If the knife companies were trying to kill us, they would be killing off their customer base. :D

Chromium 4 is toxic in terms of ingestion. Not the other forms of chromium at normal exposure levels.

Friable asbestos which becomes airborne is a problem.
 
So far, I highly appreciate all the great ideas and suggestions that you have all presented and I must say everybody is right in their own sense. While looking at all the different perspectives and interpretations, in my opinion, as some of you pointed out, an adequate scientific research would be more than convenient to test several knife coatings and finishes from a variety of manufacturers. This has been recently done on clothing materials from many famous brands by Green Peace as well. As a result, shocking news came out concerning how dangerous these materials were which we can find in almost any clothing. In the EU the same was done on plastic materials, but since it requires a lot of time and resources, only around ten out of thousands of other plastic materials have been tested and verified by the EU so far. Therefore, I hope this might be perhaps a good initiative for further development and innovation to continue with in the knife industry.
 
brownshoe said:
"Since we don't know exactly what materials and chemicals are on a coated blade, I would not use them for food prep. The last thing you want is to make your family sick, or expose them to an unknown carcinogen...but use my stainless steel knife for skinning and cleaning game."

Stainless steel contains chromium...a toxic metal...but you'll use a stainless blade for food over a coated one?

Small children eat and chew everything and live long lives. We've all eaten paint, dirt, pens, plastic, etc. The human body is wonderful thing and you won't die or be affected by the few molecules of a kife coating that may come off in your food...trust me I'm a scientist :)
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Brownshoe is quite correct. I would be far more concerned with the pesticides, radiation, hormone mimickers, and heavy metals one consumes with the food.
 
You're welcome Mr. Galba.

As for some of you on this post, if someone asks me a question that concerns the health and safety of his family, I will give a straight answer. The effects of leeched metals in food may not be that big of a deal to a full grown man. The same cannot be said for children. I would never say "just go for it" when the health of a child is involved.

But you are probably right though, nobody was ever killed by microscopic particals and leeched metals...just ask Sir John Franklin.
 
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