Is Mokum toxic?

[Mungo Park]

I have noticed some posts about making mokum. If I used brass and or copper for this is there some danger in heating either of these metals.
I am quite clueless about this. I did some search and found that brass has zink in it, but that was about all I could find. If heated enough to weld do they give off toxic fumes?
I am asking because I have found a box of brass parts, they seem to be chrome plated, this got me thinking about mokum, BUT i do not want to mess with the stuff if it is toxic when heated in a forge. Any info would be nice.
Cheers Ron.

 

[Mike Hull]

Get yourself a good vapor canister respirator of some sort, good for organic vapors, and formaldehyde if you ever plan on using Micarta, or Pakkawood(phenolic resin products), etc.

In fact, you would be well served using one every time you work on knives. The forge gives off metal in the form of fumes no matter what kind you're using. You really don't want to ingest anything used in knifemaking.

 

[Larrin]

You should be more worried about it melting and getting in your forge, contamination is very bad, you'll never weld anything else in that forge again (OK, that's a slight exaggeration). Also, it's called mokume, pronounced Moe koo may, or at least kind of like that, it's a Japanese word. It's very difficult to weld, most people don't use traditional welding methods.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Making mokume gane is a science in itself.The materials used must be properly matched and fused.All brass is not the same (several alloys) ,and there are platings on many salvaged materials that can be fatal.Ingredients and platings to avoid are Zinc,Cadmium,and Chromium.A proper respirator and good air exchange ventilation are a must.There are several good books on making mokume.One of my favorites is,"Mokume Gane,a comprehensive study" ,by Steve Midgett

Stacy

 

[J.Marsillo]

You should be more worried about it melting and getting in your forge, contamination is very bad, you'll never weld anything else in that forge again (OK, that's a slight exaggeration).QUOTE]

I found that out the hard way After some exparimenting with casting i was trying to do a weld and my hawk came out copper plated