How to use kerosene as a honing oil? (skin contact)

[Andrew Pitonyak]

When kerosene is used as a honing oil, do you use gloves, or, do you let your hands / fingers become covered in kerosene? Long term, is that a problem?

There was certainly concern about breathing the vapors, so, do you do something about that?

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=514&tid=91

[Jim Belair]

Hazards of kerosene or any chemical are best documented in the Material Safety Data Sheet. At first glance, kerosene doesn't seem to be an extremely health hazardous compound by inhalation or skin contact but I'm dashing off to an appointment so don't have time to review it in great detail.

http://www.shell.com/content/dam/shell-new/local/corporate/trading-shipping/downloads/msds/imo/netherlands-str/kerosene-str.pdf

I use waterstones so am not exposed but probably would wear gloves if regularly contacting kerosene. YMMV

[Dan Hulbert]

I used kerosene for honing oil for many years, no gloves. I'm a hobbyist so my exposure is pretty limited, SDS's are written for occupational users and larger quantities than a homeowner is likely to encounter.

I have since quit using kerosene, mostly because we moved and my shop went from the garage to the basement and the wife complained about the smell. That's when I switched to scary sharp (sandpaper and water).

With either method, I'd recommend gloves. Not so much for personal protection, more for project protection. When I sharpen, I always end up with a mess on my hands. Gloves help keep the swarf/fluid mix off the project. Nitriles are cheap and readily available. For me it's a lot easier to toss a pair of gloves than hike to the house to wash up. (We've moved a few more times and now my waterless shop is 50 yards from the house).

[John Densmore]

What advantage does kerosene have over other oils?

[John Sanford]

What advantage does kerosene have over other oils?

My guess would be its very cheap, relatively non-volatile, and may already be on hand for other uses.

[Stew Denton]

Hi Andrew,

Kerosene is relatively cheap, and should do fine for the purpose, but it definitely has a downside health hazard wise. Kerosene is a combination of refinery steams in a specified distillation range.

The he problem is that it is designed to be a fuel, not a product to be used around humans where there can be contact or breathing of the vapors as the hazardous compounds have not been removed. These can be absorbed by skin contact or by breathing. Typically you will find aromatic compounds at relatively high concentrations. These can include such compounds as naphthalene and similar materials.

A far safer choice is odorless mineral spirits. It should be in a good distillation range, and is a whole lot safe to work with.

Stew

[Patrick Chase]

Hi Andrew,

Kerosene is relatively cheap, and should do fine for the purpose, but it definitely has a downside health hazard wise. Kerosene is a combination of refinery steams in a specified distillation range.

The he problem is that it is designed to be a fuel, not a product to be used around humans where there can be contact or breathing of the vapors as the hazardous compounds have not been removed. These can be absorbed by skin contact or by breathing. Typically you will find aromatic compounds at relatively high concentrations. These can include such compounds as naphthalene and similar materials.

A far safer choice is odorless mineral spirits. It should be in a good distillation range, and is a whole lot safe to work with.

Stew

I agree that odorless mineral spirits are a great choice as a thing honing oil, and I can't believe I'm about to say this because I'm usually very conservative about toxicity, but...

If you look at the MSDS for Kerosene (somebody posted it above) you'll see that it's moderately toxic at worst. While it has the obligatory "use protection" warnings like every MSDS, the LD50 values are all relatively high compared to genuinely toxic compounds, and the worst risk for acute health impacts is for pneumonitis via *aspiration*, which is why they recommend leaving well enough alone (no induced vomiting) if ingested. It's an irritant to be sure, and you don't want to be exposed to it day in and day out, but it's no silent killer.

If Kerosene truly worries you then you also shouldn't be using gasoline, denatured alcohol, acetone, many oil-based finishes, MEK, bleach, many common household cleaners, and a whole host of other things that are at least as toxic and/or volatile (not to mention really fun stuff like methyl chloride or urea-formaldehyde glues, or some of the stuff I used to work with when I hand-developed my own large-format film).

[Jim Koepke]

I agree that odorless mineral spirits are a great choice as a thing honing oil, and I can't believe I'm about to say this because I'm usually very conservative about toxicity, but...

If you look at the MSDS for Kerosene (somebody posted it above) you'll see that it's moderately toxic at worst. While it has the obligatory "use protection" warnings like every MSDS, the LD50 values are all relatively high compared to genuinely toxic compounds, and the worst risk for acute health impacts is for pneumonitis via *aspiration*, which is why they recommend leaving well enough alone (no induced vomiting) if ingested. It's an irritant to be sure, and you don't want to be exposed to it day in and day out, but it's no silent killer.

If Kerosene truly worries you then you also shouldn't be using gasoline, denatured alcohol, acetone, many oil-based finishes, MEK, bleach, many common household cleaners, and a whole host of other things that are at least as toxic and/or volatile (not to mention really fun stuff like methyl chloride or urea-formaldehyde glues, or some of the stuff I used to work with when I hand-developed my own large-format film).

In my youth many "hazardous materials" were involved with my work environment. Potassium ferro cyanide, if my memory is working, thinners and other good stuff. Usually with care and protection.

My biggest curiosity in this thread is what is the special magic attributed to kerosene?

Mineral oil seems to work fine and it is pretty safe if you can use it on a baby's bottom.

jtk

[Patrick Chase]

In my youth many "hazardous materials" were involved with my work environment. Potassium ferro cyanide, if my memory is working, thinners and other good stuff. Usually with care and protection.

My biggest curiosity in this thread is what is the special magic attributed to kerosene?

Mineral oil seems to work fine and it is pretty safe if you can use it on a baby's bottom.

jtk

I think that there are 2 reasons why people gravitate to kerosene:

1. Tradition. There are a lot of old sources out there recommending kerosene for lapping, sharpening, and a host of other applications. I suspect a lot of that was because of its ubiquity at the time (as others point out, everybody had some) but the old ways sometimes die hard.

2. Kerosene is more stable (somewhat higher flash point and autoignition temperatures) and more viscous than mineral spirits. I think that fire is actually at least as significant a practical concern as toxicity, and kerosene doesn't look so bad in that light. Others have noted that even kerosene may be a bit too thin for honing, and mineral spirits are worse in that respect.

With that said, I personally use mineral spirits when I want a thin honing oil :-)

[steven c newman]

Ok, as for BAD chemicals.....I spent 22 years making rubber compounds at a rubber hose plant. There be a lot of Cancergen labels on the stuff we used..everyday. Zinc Oxide chills? COPD? Most of the people I worked with are now in the ground. Most had more years than I did....seemed to be 25 years was the cut off point. All I got was a spot of COPD from the place. Others have died of lung cancers and other ailments. We had the "normal' Zinc-sulfer cure to vulcanize the rubber compounds, but we also use a peroxide cure for a few "Hypalon" type compounds.

I'll stick with the 3in1 oils. "Just a drop will do ya.."

[lowell holmes]

+1 for Steven, I use 3in1 or even mineral oil on stones. I normally use water on diamond hones these days.