Here is a Safety Data Sheet for our gravers.
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It has come to my attention that information is being circulated by a manufacturer phone representative that Lindsay gravers can cause cancer. When the public is told that gravers made by one company are healthy and a competitor's gravers are unhealthy it may be misleading. It is true that the points on gravers are sharp and care should be taken to avoid puncture wounds. In addition, precautions should be taken with the dust created when grinding metals including the gravers points. However, I would like to assure people that nothing harmful can be absorbed through our skin by holding or using gravers. This would be true no matter who made them or what metal was used to make them.
Along with the cautions about the sharpness of a graver point I would like to provide information about grinding metals and gravers and the precautions we should take with the grinding dust. This is something we should all be aware of.
Breathing grinding dust from all metals is unhealthy. This includes all gravers regardless of who made them or what metal they are made of. Tungsten carbide, carbalt, high speed steel, M42 (high speed steel with cobalt) as well as other tool steels and proprietary gravers all have the potential to be unhealthy. Dust from grinding metals can cause nose, throat, skin and eye irritation and temporary or permanent respiratory disease. Therefore, precautions should be taken when grinding metals.
The binder used in tungsten carbide is cobalt. Cobalt is an ingredient in vitamin B12. However that doesn't mean it is good for us in larger quantities. This is true of iron vitamins as well.
Along with other ingredients tungsten carbide contains:
Nickel: Considered a carcinogen by IARC and NTP. Poisonous by ingestion, intratracheal, intraperitoneal, subcutaneous, and intravenous routes.Hypersensitivity to nickel is common and can cause allergic contact dermatitis (nickel itch), pulmonary asthma and conjunctivitis.
Chromium Carbide: (as Chromium dust) Primary hazard - respiratory effects. Chromium metal is relatively non toxic. There is little evidence of significant toxicity from chromic or chromous salts. Exposure to chromium metal does not give rise to pulmonary fibrosis. Unlike nickel, chromium metal does not produce allergic contact dermatitis.
Tantalum Carbide: (as Tantalum dust) Some industrial skin injuries from tantalum have been reported. Systemic industrial poisoning however, is apparently unknown. Tantalum has a low order of toxicity but has produced transient inflammatory lesions in the lungs of animals.
Cobalt: Considered possibly carcinogenic to humans by the IARC. Moderately toxic by ingestion. Inhalation of the dust may cause pulmonary damage. The powder may cause dermatitis.
Cobalt has both beneficial and harmful effects on human health. Cobalt is beneficial because it is part of Vitamin B12. Cobalt has also been used as a treatment for anemia, because it causes red blood cells to be produced. Exposure to high levels of cobalt can harm your health. Effects on the lungs, including asthma, pneumonia, and wheezing, have been found in workers who breathed high levels of cobalt in the air. In the 1960s, some breweries added cobalt to beer to stabilize the foam. Some people who drank large quantities of the beer experienced nausea, vomiting, and serious effects on the heart. However, effects on the heart were not seen in people with anemia or pregnant women treated with cobalt.
The following are the ingredients of high speed steel, with and without cobalt (M42)
Ingredients Percent by weight of ingredient
Iron 0-0.7
Silicon 0-0.5
Manganese 0-0.5
Chromium 3-5
Molybdenum 0-10
Tungsten 1-19
Vanadium 1-8
Cobalt 0-12
Iron, an ingredient of high-speed steel has no toxicity. A disorder caused by iron is usually due to mechanical stimulation. As a result, disorder of skin and respiratory organs is induced. That is, though the steel does not have toxicity itself, its dust may cause mechanical stimulation or disorder in respiratory organs such as pneumoconiosis.
Manganese, chromium and cobalt contained in the steel may cause disorder in respiratory organs such as pneumonia, cough, shortness of breath, and asthma, if the dust and fumes are inhaled.
The dust of manganese, chromium and cobalt may irritate eyes and skin and, as a result, may cause erythema and inflammation.
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Take the following safety precautions when grinding gravers or anything out of metal:
1. Always grind gravers wet. If using a diamond lap, coat the lap with a light coat of oil or water to keep the grinding dust from becoming airborne.
2. Grind with adequate ventilation.
3. Avoid breathing dust or mist.
4. Minimize prolonged skin contact with grinding dust.
5. Wash hands and clothing thoroughly after being exposed to grinding dust.Wash hands after grinding and before eating or smoking
6. Clean up grinding dust with wet paper towels or rags and discard of properly.