Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing 1989-2025
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Need food-safe pliers
Quickstart:
Tools usually need to be made of a harder and more wear-resistant metal than the objects you are using them on (visualize trying to file something with a file which is softer and less wear resistant than what you want to file).
Chrome-vanadium steel is tough, hard, wear-resistant, and a good material to build many tools from. But it is not corrosion resistant, so it is usually plated with nickel and chrome.
Q. I need slip joint pliers to grip bony pieces of raw meat while feeding my bulldog so he doesn't swallow a choke-size piece. Stainless steel narrow nose fishing pliers slip and cause me injury. I cannot find large enough stainless steel slip joint pliers. I have found "High Carbon Steel, Rust Resistant Finish", elsewhere described as "chromium-vanadium steel". Can I use these to clamp onto raw meat products for the few minutes it takes to feed my dog without transferring any toxic metals or chemicals?
Katy Wallace- Sterling Heights Michigan
December 30, 2024
A. Hi Katy.
Those pliers are most likely nickel-chrome plated, but if they are unplated that would be fine as well. Both materials are used in kitchens, and are food-safe. Although dogs are not people, I have never heard anything to make me suspect that these materials would be dangerous to dogs, and the amount that could possibly wear off and be in the meat would be infinitesimal anyway.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Thank you so very much for your swift reply!!
- Sterling Heights Michigan
December 30, 2024
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