[TheForge] Finishes for food contact items

[TristerK at aol.com]

>>The smoke may be the key here.  Is this smoke as in the sense  of
vegetable oil "smoking" in a frying pan, or smoke in the sense  of
incomplete combustion of a fuel?<<
 
Um, it was smoke - grey, drifted upwards, smells like burning beeswax - you  
know, Smoke. 
 
 >>If the former, the "smoke" is beeswax
fumes.  I'd be  surprised if that would result in a drying effect of
beeswax, but I've been  wrong before.  (At least once, I'm sure. :^) More
likely this would  simply spread the beeswax out over all cracks and
crevases in the scale on  the surface.
However, if the smoke represents incomplete combustion, then  you're
pyrolyzing the beeswax.  All bets are off when pyrolysis  occurs.  <<
 
OK, you're over my head here - scuffs toe in dirt - I just know it worked  
out for this project. I mostly make knives so don't do much black iron finish.  
YMMV.
 
wait a minuite pyro = fire so does pyrolysis = burning? If so then  yeah, 
pyrolysis.
 
Gotta go now, my toast is undergoing pyrolysis.