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Repairing my mug with Kintsugi

fellerts.no

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Re: Repairing my mug with Kintsugi

#62

Post by akpa1 »

1970-01-01 wrote: post #58

This is once again a perfect use case for cyanoacrylate. There's FDA approved, food-safe brands that will simply allow you to rebuild every fragment into the cup. It will also cure into ceramic in under a minute. I say this because I've done it. You're wasting time and energy using any other method.

I suppose it comes down to if you're purely in it for utility or if you're trying to repair this thing of yours precisely because it's this thing of yours. I'd be far more inclined to go to the lengths discussed in the article for a precious mug that I've used for a decade than I would for a mug I'd had for two, even if I'd still want to repair both out of thriftiness. It's a labour of love.

Re: Repairing my mug with Kintsugi

#63

Post by qwerpy »

throwup238 wrote: post #59
fellerts wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not a doctor/chemist, but as far as I understand, the polymerization of urushiol renders it hard and inert. Your thread discusses contact with raw urushiol as found in poison ivy, cashew sap (and apparently mangos) which is indeed known to cause allergic rashes in most humans. I'm not saying that kintsugi is definitely food-safe, but it's an important distinction. Side-note: I did get some raw urushi on my finger…

> Side-note: I did get some raw urushi on my fingers while working on this project, but nothing happened. Perhaps I'm immune. Might also be enough mechanical rubbing on fingertips during normal use that it mostly scrubs off. Whenever I feel it coming on from Urushi or accidentally touching poison ivy in nature, I rub it with water and course sand/dirt which seems to get rid of the urushiol.

How do you “feel it coming on”? Would love to develop a sense for it so I can save myself from days of discomfort.

Re: Repairing my mug with Kintsugi

#64

Post by b112 »

talkingtab wrote: post #13

Danger!!! Urushi is basically poison oak/poison ivy sap. Not quite the same, but in that family and with the same effects. Not to scare you off, but if you are interested in this, imagine all the things that can go wrong from if you were to get a tube of poison ivy sap and then do things with it. That said, Urushi is great and the number of things you can do with it is truly amazing. Just don't do it rashly.

Sir...sir! This is hacker news! It's not some place to say somthong punny! What are you, The Punisher?

Re: Repairing my mug with Kintsugi

#68

Post by throwup238 »

qwerpy wrote: post #63
throwup238 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Side-note: I did get some raw urushi on my fingers while working on this project, but nothing happened. Perhaps I'm immune. Might also be enough mechanical rubbing on fingertips during normal use that it mostly scrubs off. Whenever I feel it coming on from Urushi or accidentally touching poison ivy in nature, I rub it with water and course sand/dirt which seems to get rid of the urushiol.

How do you “feel it coming on”? Would love to develop a sense for it so I can save myself from days of discomfort.

I have sensitive skin so I start to itch shortly after contact and it builds from there. If I get it scrubbed off fast enough after exposure, I can usually prevent full contact dermatitis from setting in.

Urushi is more of a pain in the ass because its made from the sap, but Windsor and Newton artguard barrier cream seems to really help. Ideally apply it before use but it helps washing it off too if you forget.

Re: Repairing my mug with Kintsugi

#69

Post by harimau777 »

throwup238 wrote: post #2

> These days, some hobbyists opt for modern epoxy instead of the traditional and expensive Urushi lacquer. Epoxy probably yields a more robust bond and certainly allows for quicker repairs, but I question its safety for food-related use, especially at the temperatures found in a steaming cup of coffee. People opt for epoxy because Urushi lacquer is traditionally made from poison oak sap and is a potent skin irritant…

I've never trusted that food safe epoxy actually is. I'm afraid that lobbyists have interfered, or its a situation where "there's no evidence that it's dangerous but there's not really evidence that it's safe", or the studies are funded by manufacturers, or there's something like manufactures pulled with BPA where they just switch to something functionally equivalent to a potentially dangerous chemical.

Is there any reason to believe that these epoxies won't just be like PFAS where in a few years the EPA/FDA will decide that they were actually risky?

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