Eezox Protectant, Food Safe?

Father & Son Traditional Sharpening

Father & Son Traditional Sharpening

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Jun 11, 2012
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So I've got some Eezox that I would like to use as a protectant against rust, I'm just wondering if anybody knows whether it is food safe after the product has been allowed to dry completely to the touch?

It is my understanding that they use trichloroethylene as the carrier solvent and I believe the synthetic esters are the 'active' ingredient. Supposedly once the carrier solvent evaporates, the rest is permanently bonded to the metal and won't rub off.

Here's the MSDS is anybody wants to take a look at it.

http://www.eezox.info/msds.html
 
Yes, it contains Trichlorethylene which is toxic, quite a bit actually. However, it is the same with everything - it all depends on the dose. I remember a previous thread about a similar topic and I think apple seeds came up, containing cyanide. You have to eat about 17 apple cores to get a toxic effect. So I guess applying Eezox is ok if you do it right. I wouldn't lick the blade or use it for food though right away. As you mentioned, Trichlorethylene is a solvent, therefore it may actually disappear after a while from the "solution", so maybe using the knife on food after a while may be even safe?

So I think your are absolutely right - it would be great though to find some testing about toxic substances coming off it after a while?!

Here is a link to a previous "rust-study" that you probably know but it may be interesting for others: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-so-little-rust-prevention-test-round-2/page2

I also found this pdf file from the NICNAS (Australia). Don't have the time right now to go through it but may be interesting: http://www.nicnas.gov.au/__data/ass...9/PEC_8_Trichloroethylene_Full_Report_PDF.pdf


Cheers.
 
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I wouldn't use Eezox on a food blade ever. It is my favorite thing for everything else though.
 
I emailed someone at Warren Custom Outdoors, who is the number 1 retailer of Eezox. He told me that he doesn't know if it's food safe because he does not know the formula, but he has been using it on his knives for quite some time. He claims to have used his knives to cut steak often and never had any problems.......

Not sure that proves it is food safe, but I guess it is good that there were no symptoms of toxic exposure. It is my understanding that almost everything we consider food is toxic to some degree, if you eat enough of it then you will get sick. So I believe it is really a matter of how much Eezox would it take to hurt you.....
 
I just don't think it is worth doing anything you know could be bad for you for no reason. You don't need that level of protection in your pocket or your kitchen.

I have Eezox on a lot of my fixed blades and I would do whatever I needed to do in the woods, but at work, in the kitchen, or in the back yard, I'd use something that didn't have Eezox on it.
 
Yeah I would assume it is always toxic, and only worry about how toxic in an unlikely survival scenario.

If you want to carry something rustproof, a Spyderco SALT might fit the bill. I carried a SALT1 for a year and a half in my left pocket and it never showed the first sign of oxidation, even with citrus juice left on it for days. Then you could put your Eezox on everything else.
 
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