beryllium copper on a knife on instagram...

[steven smith 97]

ive read beryllium is extremely dangerous and it will kill you horribly, i think that goes for beryllium copper as well. caleb royer posted a knife with some in the handle construction, it wasnt his knife but someone elses, i suggested caleb tell the maker about the dangers. 

 

because im on an old computer i couldnt find the maker to tell him myself, if anyone else can get the message through they probably should. 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCd7CRvFxbI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[steven smith 97]

 

 

In solid form and as finished objects, beryllium copper presents no known health hazard.^{[citation needed]} However, inhalation of dust, mist, or fume containing beryllium can cause the serious lung condition, chronic beryllium disease. - wikipedia

[Alan Longmire 2,723]

Here is the thread about this from a while back:

 

 

And yes, as a finished object it's harmless.  The dust from grinding or sanding it is incredibly evil, though.  I've known a guy that died from it.

[steven smith 97]

ive gotten no replies trying to contact this guy, so im not sure if anyone else got to him, i tried to friend him on instagram to send him a message but his page is private so.... 

 

i left a message on the post, he needs to know before he starts another knife, but ive done what i can do. i dont know if caleb royer would contact him, he did not seem to care about my post pointing out the dangers of beryllium, i must not be popular enough to help. 

 

dont think that someone else is going to jump in and help the guy, im trying, and anyone would appreciate it if you tried to reach out to them to warn them about something that will turn their lungs into goo.

 

please try to help, there are too many people who think someone else will come along and take care of a problem, everybody thinks that. im not comfortable doing this, but im trying and i dont think its working. 

[billyO 220]

22 hours ago, steven smith said:

i couldnt find the maker to tell him myself

I see he's a member of the Kitchen Knife Forums, and I posted a message linking to this page on his profile page.  He hasn't logged on for over a year, hopefully we're not too late.

Edited July 11, 2020 by billyO

[steven smith 97]

okay, i got a hold of the guy, it seems like he knows what he is doing and is taking precautions.

 

but if any of you ever see something like this dont think that someone else is going to help, thats what everyone thinks and so many people suffer and die surrounded by people who think they care but they dont even say anything.

 

thank you to whoever tried to help, now i can go back to being awkward and kind of rude. 

[Dan Hertzson 29]

Is there any easy way to test if the copper you have is beryllium copper?  I have a pretty large chunk of copper (3" diameter/12" long) that I have been planning on cutting up to use for fittings. 

[Alan Longmire 2,723]

It tends to be a bit more yellow than ordinary copper, lighter than brass.  It's not very common to find in unmarked chunks, they keep pretty close tabs on it due to the toxicity.  IF you have an accurate way to measure the specific gravity that could help.  Googling "Beryllium copper specific gravity" got me the result of 8100-8250 Kg/m^2.  All the brasses are more dense than this, going up to pure copper at 8930 Kg/m^2.  Phosphor Bronze is also more dense, but unfortunately aluminum bronze, tin bronze, and leaded bronze can be in the same range as beryllium copper.  

 

The only way I've ever encountered it in the wild is as premade non-sparking tools like hammers and wrenches.  These are always marked.  They do make plain copper and brass non-marring hammers, and those are far more common because they're cheaper and nontoxic.  You're far more likely to run across leaded brass or bronze in large sizes.  It's used for bearings.  I have some BIG chunks of that.  And yeah, lead isn't great for you either, but it's not nearly as bad as beryllium dust.  The chances of your chunk being BeCu are pretty remote.  It's kind of like the medical saying when trying to diagnose symptoms: "If you hear hoofbeats, horses are more likely than zebras."

[Dan Hertzson 29]

Alan,

 

Thanks, I should't have too much trouble weighing it and figuring out the density from that (you did mean density and in units of Kg/m^3, right? - specific gravity is dimensionless if I recall correctly).  This chunk is almost definitely copper, not brass. It is very distinctly copper colored.  In fact I have a non-marring beryllium copper hammer, I'll compare colors, but I believe that you are correct and the hammer is much more "yellow".  I appreciate you taking the time to help me with this.  I've had enough heavy metal poisoning from my glassblowing days and don't need to challenge my system any further.

[Jerrod Miller 443]

Specific gravity is a density ratio, so it could work, but yeah, Alan meant density.  But I am going to ding him for using kg/m^3.  Copper is 0.324 lbs/in^3.  

[Alan Longmire 2,723]

Hey! I am bilingual in most units except temperature, and that was what came up when I looked it up. 

[Jerrod Miller 443]

3 minutes ago, Alan Longmire said:

that was what came up when I looked it up

 

Then convert it.  Seriously though, at the very least it should have been in grams/cm^3.