[TheForge] Chemicals- was Re: Cast iron pans YAK

Thu Mar 28 18:10:01 2002

What follows is a semantic argument, and has nothing to do with the safety =
of chemicals, much less to blacksmithing.

I don't like "chemical" flavors any more than anyone.  I just don't like =
dumping on chemistry.  There's a lot of blame due the chemical industry, =
but as much due to many other industries, including mining, petroleum,  =
smelting, etc., ad nauseum. =20

So why is soap a "chemical flavor"?  Soap antedates the chemical industry =
by at least three millenia.  Why is petroleum a "chemical flavor"?  =
Petroleum is a "natural" product, as well as "organic."  Get my drift? =20

There are a lot of nasty chemicals out there, but there'd be nothing at =
all out there if there were no chemicals because everything is a chemical. =
 In that sense, "chemical" is merely the most general possible term to =
describe anything.  To say something has a "chemical flavor" is to say =
nothing descriptive.  I could just as well say, "What a delicious chemical =
flavor this beefsteak has," as ALL flavors are chemical in nature. =20

If you want to describe the stink of a billy goat (no offence to goat =
lovers, but they do stink), would you refer to it as a "mamalian odor" or =
a "vertebrate odor"?  Kinda misses the point, doesn't it?

Like I said, this is a semantic argument. =20

Bruce
NJ

>>> Phlip <[email protected]> 03/28/02 04:52PM >>>
OK, I was the one who brought up chemicals, and much of the turnip and =
chemistry response was to my posting, so here's my take on it.

I've got a very strong chem and bio background, so I know what I mean by =
chemical flavors, but sometimes my respondants won't, so to clarify:

Chemical flavors, when I'm describing them, relate to relatively chemically=
 pure substances, such as salts, acids, and bases, but not limited to =
these substances. Yeah, everything has a rating on the pH scale, but I'm =
talking about non-food related flavors, and my palate is sensitive enough =
to taste and identify many, including shoe polish, several different glues =
and fixatives, soaps, petroleum oils, drugs, insecticides, and so forth. =
I'm quite well aware that chemicals are the building blocks of life, but =
there are also quite a few which can help you on your way to a slow or a =
quick death, and I tend to avoid them. I treat stray
chemical flavors just as I do wild plants- if I know what they are, AND I =
know that they're safe, I'll ignore or use them, as appropriate. If I =
don't know that they're safe, or at least harmless, I'll avoid them.

When smithing, I look at dangerous possibilities. When you're heating =
metals, heat causes reactions- if the known reactions are reasonably safe, =
as in steel, composed of iron and carbon, I'm not going to worry about =
them. When you get into more exotic alloys, though, such as those =
involving chrome compounds, you need to be careful.

A case in point. Titanium BY ITSELF, is relatively safe and non-reactive. =
BUT, it is frequently alloyed with vanadium, which is EXTREMELY poisonous =
and dangerous. Consequently, if I want to work with titanium, either I =
know EXACTLY what the alloy is, or I use extreme precautions.

Y'all are adults- you can make your own choices. But, I reserve the right =
to make my own, and I usually go for caution.

Phlip

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