• silly goose meekah@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      3 months ago

      Ive never bathed by grinder in isopropyl in 6+ years and it still grinds like new every time I clean it with my pocket knife. But I did get a steel grinder to make sure I can scrape all I want without getting aluminum in my weed

      • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        3 months ago

        You’re probably still getting some steel in the weed. It is very unlikely the knife and the grinder share the exact hardness.

        • silly goose meekah@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          5
          ·
          edit-2
          3 months ago

          But I’d rather have steel than aluminum in my weed. Aluminum oxide fumes are carcinogenic when inhaled, so I’d rather avoid it.

          I realize worrying about cancer when talking about smoking is ironic, but still.

          • yngmnwntr@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            3 months ago

            Doesn’t aluminum need to be heated to several thousand degrees to put off carcinogenic fumes? Otherwise cooking on aluminum foil would be deadly…

            • silly goose meekah@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              3 months ago

              Cooking doesn’t usually go much higher than 200 - 250C (400 - 500F). Cigarettes (and I assume joints similarly) reach 900C (1650F) when puffing. I’m not sure at which point aluminum produces fumes, but I dont think the cooking argument holds up.

            • silly goose meekah@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              3 months ago

              Ice had the experience that toothpicks break too easily to clean my grinder, especially what’s in the little gap between the lid and the outside of the grinding chamber if that makes sense. But glad it works for you!

              I also removed my kief tray once I started earning enough to never really run out lol

          • LordGimp@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            3 months ago

            Welder here. Aluminum oxide inhalation is correlated with an increased risk for alzheimers, not cancer. Hexavalent chromium is a carcinogen, and that comes from heating up stainless steels. So you are actively replacing a relatively non toxic oxide with the potential for an actually toxic carcinogenic gaseous metal, assuming your pocket knife is some sort of stainless steel (statistically very likely).