Raw Brass Safety

[alexgalexg]

Interesting.
This may be more of a subtle killer than my idea for a pen made of raw Osmium...
Will add this to the handbook.

You may want to look into that some more. When I was a kid, we clinched lead sinkers on our fishing lines with our teeth. I handled a lot of lead wheel weights and breathed a lot of tetraethyl fumes when I worked at a service station in the 50's. I ain't dead yet. I think it would take a lot of lead to kill someone.

Just like not every old school mechanic died due to asbestos exposure from brakes. Or like how not every lifelong smoker dies of cancer. I mean absolutely no disrespect and I see your point, just that in my book a pen containing lead is a silly risk. I created this post asking for some input, I am just keeping the thread updated until a conclusion is reached (when I do the lead test). I am not going to be a critic of people who want to use a brass pen regardless, I just think its helpful information for us all to be aware of! I surely could have benefited from a thread like this when I was doing my pen shopping, surely that means someone else could benefit from this one once a conclusion is made.

[Parsimonious]

I didn't say lead was harmless. Detman was considering a lead pen as a murder weapon. I just pointed out that it would take a long time to kill someone that way. If I had a brass pen that contained lead, I'd just toss it in the trash and buy another pen. Problem solved.

[Cyril]

Oh dear Oh Dear !!!

[An old bloke]

While not ignoring the toxicity of lead, mercury, asbestos, and a huge variety of other substances some of which may be ink components, I find myself asking why does two pages of this discussion bring to mind a quote from one of William Shakespearse's plays?

[FredRydr]

While not ignoring the toxicity of lead, mercury, asbestos, and a huge variety of other substances some of which may be ink components, I find myself asking why does two pages of this discussion bring to mind a quote from one of William Shakespearse's plays?

To be or not to be—that is the question.... That stuff is toxic!

[titrisol]

This seems to be modern brass, in which Lead content is more heavily regulated than in old brass
I wouldn;t worry too much, even 2% lead in a 50g pen is 1g
That 1g is distributed in the whole pen and in order to get to your skin would need to leach to the surface, and then be absorbed by your skin

The surface that touches your fingers will have small quantities and as long as you wash your hands a couple of times a day the adsorption is very improbable. With a LD50 of 4.000mg/kg it's a low risk

https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/guideme...guidance_3_1_2

[An old bloke]

While not ignoring the toxicity of lead, mercury, asbestos, and a huge variety of other substances some of which may be ink components, I find myself asking why does two pages of this discussion bring to mind a quote from one of William Shakespearse's plays?

To be or not to be—that is the question.... That stuff is toxic!

Sorry, but that's not it. 'Much ado...'

[although]

My understanding is that brass/copper/bronze (you know, the copper alloys) can be dangerous when you are exposed to fumes or fine particulates. So, welding or grinding (not necessarily machining like with a lathe) require some thought toward PPE.

But holding a brass/copper/bronze thing is not dangerous in the least, even if you hold it for a long time, even if you hold it for years. As a matter of fact, it's mildly toxic to bacteria, so an argument can be made that it is safer than other substances on which virus/bacteria can survive for hours. Brass doorknobs are wonderful things!

Lead has similar properties (it stops bacterial growth in water pipes just like copper) only it's more frequently found in particulate form (paints and such) and is more easily released (acidic water supplies like in Flint) so, lead isn't a good choice for pigment binders and water pipes now that we know more about it.

Just don't breath/eat/drink powdered metals. You should be fine...

Cheers!

[Ugly Old Guy]

61 years old here, soon to be 67.
Leaded gas was still common , so obviously still available, when I worked at my uncle's service station, as as auto mechanic, truck mechanic, heavy equipment mechanic, and a fabrication welder, 1969 to 1976/1977. I was also an auto dismantler at a auto junkyard for a short period of time in '77.
I've washed greasy parts, and my hands, (sometimes after doing a 4 or 6 wheel brake job before asbestos was banned) leaded gasoline, before it to, was banned/the market for it evaporated due to a lack of pre-1974 cars on the road that "required" it.

In the mid 1980's I worked at a tire shop, and balanced Hades and Zeus only know how many wheels, using wheel weights cast of a lead and bismuth alloy. (not suitable for melting down and using to cast muzzleloading balls and bullets, by the way)

Unquestionably, some of the paint on the walls of the houses I lived in while growing up, not to mention on my painted toys and bicycles, contained lead. I don't know if any had lead water pipes on the supply side. One of the places I called "home" (as did my paternal grand parents, father, and his three siblings) was built in the 1860's so it may have had lead pipes past the water meter.

My paternal grand parents, father, aunt, and uncles didn't have lead poisoning. My two uncles were auto mechanics. One, was an aircraft mechanic while in the Air Force, and a auto and truck/bus mechanic for roughly 35 ~ 40 years after leaving the military, before retiring circa 1990 ~ 1995, when he was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer, not related to either lead poisoning, or exposure to Asbestos.

I've regularly used a Fisher Raw Brass Space Pen during the last year or so.
I've shot pure lead balls and bullets out of muzzleloaders (without wearing gloves while loading) since 1987 or 1988.

In short, I've been exposed to quite a bit of lead. If memory serves, in Junior High metal shop, we cast quite a few fishing sinkers of up to one pound each. No gas masks.
When fishing, I remove lead split sinkers, using my teeth to cinch and open them. Same as everyone else I know that fishes using those sinkers. When using tie-on sinkers, I don't wear gloves.
Anyway, I haven't been poisoned by lead, and am cancer free.

IMHO, unless you are super sensitive to lead (as in "more sensitive than the "average" person is") you don't need to worry about it.
You've likely been exposed to a small fraction of the lead that I have been, since your arrival on this rock. 😁