Spehro Pefhany wrote:

Yup, BeO. Harmless unless you grind it up and breath it in.

But then drill rod is harmless unless you do something like sharpen it
to a point and plunge it into your eye.

Dang! I gotta get one of those protective covers for my
keyboard.....and a fresh cup of coffee. ;-)

Pete

--
Pete Snell
Department of Physics
Royal Military College
Kingston, Ontario,
Canada
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

For a successful technology, reality must take precedence
over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.

Richard Feynman.(1918-1988)

Personal Observations on the Reliability of the (Space) Shuttle.

Ed Huntress wrote:
"Steve W." wrote in message ...
Ed Huntress wrote:
Right, and now black. The black ceramic knives are sinister looking.
Very cool.
Are you sure they're zirconia? Black is usually aluminum oxide. In
high-performance engineering applications, black may be silicon nitride.

I'll bet they're aluminum oxide (alumina).

--
Ed Huntress

--
Latin: It's not just for geniuses any more.

Nope, It is Zirconium Carbide.
They press the blades from Zirconium Oxide powder, Then they fire them at
14-1500 degrees for a few hours. These blades will be white at this
time,if you wanted a white ceramic this is what you would get. If you
wanted a black blade they run it through a second process called hot
isostatic pressing. During this process the zirconium oxide changes to
zirconium carbide, and you now have a black blade.

Wow, HIPping is pretty fancy for a knife blade. That used to be reserved for
things like jet turbine blades.

Where does the carbon come from to react with the zirconium oxide?

--
Ed Huntress



Added carbon black. At least that what Kyocera claims.

--
Steve W.
Near Cooperstown, New York


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On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:41:32 -0500, the infamous "Ed Huntress"
scrawled the following:


"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:00:23 -0500, the infamous "Ed Huntress"
scrawled the following:

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message

No, I strongly doubt it. These are metallic ceramic called
"zirconia", aka "man-made diamond", which I believe hadn't been
invented back then.

Zirconia (zirconium dioxide) is not man-made diamond. It's just another
ceramic. Man-made diamond is...man-made diamond. g

Zirconia is the material used to make Mitutoyo's Cerablock gage blocks.

And Cubic Zirconia is the trade name of one manmade diamond.

Uh, not that I know of. It's the name of an *artificial* diamond. It isn't
diamond, manmade or otherwise. It isn't even carbon.

Crikey, Ed. Manmade = artificial in most people's books. Damned
literalists. I swear...

--
Latin: It's not just for geniuses any more.

On Nov 18, 8:21 pm, "Grumpy" wrote:

What was the troble with the potato peeler/

I think it was the fat edge angle thing, you had to use a lot of
pressure to get it started under the skin. The metal blade things from
Wallys for $0.98 pare the skin right off.

Dave

On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:40:58 -0500, the infamous Bob Engelhardt
scrawled the following:

Ed Huntress wrote:
...
Now that man-made, or synthetic diamonds are so common, it's good to
distinguish them from the artificial stones that only *look* like diamonds.
The synthetics, again, are real diamonds. They can even make some
gem-quality synthetic diamonds today.

Here's an interesting article about synthetic vapor-deposition diamonds:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/...tra-large.html

They are producing gem quality up to 34 carat! With an improved process
that will allow much larger "... to kilocarat diamonds of high optical
quality". De Beers must be having nightmares!

That reminds me of a parody of the DeBeers commercials:

She won't last forever. Why give her a diamond?
DiBeers

This isn't it, but it's good. nyuk, nyuk, nyuk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiN-E...eature=related



Astonishingly: " ...600 tonnes of synthetic diamonds are produced each
year for industrial use alone ..."

And it's good schtuff, Maynard.

--
Latin: It's not just for geniuses any more.

On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:17:22 -0700, the infamous Lew Hartswick
scrawled the following:

Larry Jaques wrote:

And Cubic Zirconia is the trade name of one manmade diamond.

I think thats called "paste" in the jewlery business. :-)

"Bbbut, it can scratch glass!"

--
Latin: It's not just for geniuses any more.

On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:45:00 -0500, the infamous "Ed Huntress"
scrawled the following:


"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:04:47 -0500, the infamous "Ed Huntress"
scrawled the following:


Oh, wait, I remember where you got the diamond thing. You're talking about
cubic zirconia, which is a form that's clear crystal, used as artificial
gem
diamonds.

It still isn't diamond, man-made or otherwise. But you probably know that.
The ceramic zirconia usually is white.

Right, and now black. The black ceramic knives are sinister looking.
Very cool.

Are you sure they're zirconia? Black is usually aluminum oxide. In
high-performance engineering applications, black may be silicon nitride.

I'll bet they're aluminum oxide (alumina).

They're sold as ceramic knives. You tell me.

An ad: http://www.metrokitchen.com/about_kyocera

Zirconium oxide (white) vs. zirconium carbide (which turns black when
fired) is the key to our mystery.


P.S: Guess what showed up in today's mail? Ayup, I got hit by a
ricochet. Danke y gracias, Monsieur.

--
Latin: It's not just for geniuses any more.

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:45:00 -0500, the infamous "Ed Huntress"
scrawled the following:


"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:04:47 -0500, the infamous "Ed Huntress"
scrawled the following:


Oh, wait, I remember where you got the diamond thing. You're talking
about
cubic zirconia, which is a form that's clear crystal, used as artificial
gem
diamonds.

It still isn't diamond, man-made or otherwise. But you probably know
that.
The ceramic zirconia usually is white.

Right, and now black. The black ceramic knives are sinister looking.
Very cool.

Are you sure they're zirconia? Black is usually aluminum oxide. In
high-performance engineering applications, black may be silicon nitride.

I'll bet they're aluminum oxide (alumina).

They're sold as ceramic knives. You tell me.

An ad: http://www.metrokitchen.com/about_kyocera

Zirconium oxide (white) vs. zirconium carbide (which turns black when
fired) is the key to our mystery.


P.S: Guess what showed up in today's mail? Ayup, I got hit by a
ricochet. Danke y gracias, Monsieur.

Ah, gut. Pass it around if you want.

--
Ed Huntress

Larry Jaques wrote:
On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:41:32 -0500, the infamous "Ed Huntress"
scrawled the following:


Uh, not that I know of. It's the name of an *artificial* diamond. It isn't
diamond, manmade or otherwise. It isn't even carbon.


Crikey, Ed. Manmade = artificial in most people's books. Damned
literalists. I swear...

I'm with Ed on this. OK on the " Manmade = artificial" BUT it's
not "diamond" it can be "Manmade or artificial JEMS". (paste)
...lew...

On Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:48:28 -0500, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
...
Ed Huntress wrote:
...
Now that man-made, or synthetic diamonds are so common, it's good to
distinguish them from the artificial stones that only *look* like
diamonds. The synthetics, again, are real diamonds. They can even make
some gem-quality synthetic diamonds today.

Here's an interesting article about synthetic vapor-deposition diamonds:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/...tra-large.html

They are producing gem quality up to 34 carat! With an improved process
that will allow much larger "... to kilocarat diamonds of high optical
quality". De Beers must be having nightmares!

Wow! DeBeers, the ballgame is about over.


Astonishingly: " ...600 tonnes of synthetic diamonds are produced each
year for industrial use alone ..."

Bob

Yeah, that volume has been climbing, and products like diamond hones are
getting to be pretty common.
Got a whole bunch in different grades that I need to learn how to use.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

On Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:24:48 -0500, the infamous "Ed Huntress"
scrawled the following:

I said:
P.S: Guess what showed up in today's mail? Ayup, I got hit by a
ricochet. Danke y gracias, Monsieur.

Ah, gut. Pass it around if you want.

The scary part is that some guy other than the author autographed it.
I wonder what the going rate is for your sig, Ed. I'll be rich!

--
Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
-- Jules Renard

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:24:48 -0500, the infamous "Ed Huntress"
scrawled the following:

I said:
P.S: Guess what showed up in today's mail? Ayup, I got hit by a
ricochet. Danke y gracias, Monsieur.

Ah, gut. Pass it around if you want.

The scary part is that some guy other than the author autographed it.
I wonder what the going rate is for your sig, Ed. I'll be rich!

It was either that, or I'd attach a long rope. d8-)

--
Ed Huntress

On Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:13:51 -0500, the infamous "Ed Huntress"
scrawled the following:


"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:24:48 -0500, the infamous "Ed Huntress"
scrawled the following:

I said:
P.S: Guess what showed up in today's mail? Ayup, I got hit by a
ricochet. Danke y gracias, Monsieur.

Ah, gut. Pass it around if you want.

The scary part is that some guy other than the author autographed it.
I wonder what the going rate is for your sig, Ed. I'll be rich!

It was either that, or I'd attach a long rope. d8-)

Well, the rope would sure have helped you FIND it TWICE in the past
three months, wouldn't it? playful frown

--
Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
-- Jules Renard

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:13:51 -0500, the infamous "Ed Huntress"
scrawled the following:


"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
. ..
On Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:24:48 -0500, the infamous "Ed Huntress"
scrawled the following:

I said:
P.S: Guess what showed up in today's mail? Ayup, I got hit by a
ricochet. Danke y gracias, Monsieur.

Ah, gut. Pass it around if you want.

The scary part is that some guy other than the author autographed it.
I wonder what the going rate is for your sig, Ed. I'll be rich!

It was either that, or I'd attach a long rope. d8-)

Well, the rope would sure have helped you FIND it TWICE in the past
three months, wouldn't it? playful frown

Only if it was attached to my brain.

--
Ed Huntress

Gerald Miller wrote in
:

Got a whole bunch in different grades that I need to learn how to use.

They're a polisher's best friend when working with hardned metals. G

Lew Hartswick wrote in
m:

Larry Jaques wrote:
On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:41:32 -0500, the infamous "Ed Huntress"
scrawled the following:


Uh, not that I know of. It's the name of an *artificial* diamond. It
isn't diamond, manmade or otherwise. It isn't even carbon.


Crikey, Ed. Manmade = artificial in most people's books. Damned
literalists. I swear...

I'm with Ed on this. OK on the " Manmade = artificial" BUT it's
not "diamond" it can be "Manmade or artificial JEMS". (paste)
...lew...


That's GEMS not JEMS and Cubic Zirconia is anything BUT a diamond: while
its Index of Refraction is higher than crystaline carbon, CZ is much softer
and can be scratched easily by steel.