Bronze Wire and Lead

[ethora]

I contacted Fire Mountain today to ask if their Wrap It brand "Jeweler's Bronze" wire contains lead and was told that it could contain lead even though it does not say anywhere on the website that it contains lead. Ugh.

So I told my customer that no, I would not make a bronze tree. :(

[Former_Member]

umm that's weird it shouldn't!

[ethora]

I know, and I'm bummed. Lead is just this insidious annoyance that won't go away!

[Former_Member]

What about solid brass wire? Totally lead free.

Maybe I'm just biased. ;)

[mylavaliere]

there shouldn't be lead in bronze, it must just be a bronze finish? i contacted them about a year ago about lead and nickel contents and they said they didn't test. most of their supplies are pretty low quality so i dont shop there anymore. i agree with timedoll, solid brass wire would work the best. i have bought some hand patinated dark brass wire on etsy & it is great.

[ethora]

Unless the brass wire has been tested and/or is guaranteed to be lead free, then I would not assume that it is lead free.

There's also known to be lead in brass keys! Just think about all of the parents who give their babies keys to play with!

http://www.gordonresearch.com/articles_edta/the_san_diego_tribune_on_lead.html

I'm just going to stick with sterling and fine silver.

[mylavaliere]

i would never give a child a filthy key anyway. why dont you just find brass wire that is lead free?

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24701789&ref=sr_list_2&&ga_search_query=lead+free+wi...

[Former_Member]

Just a note that Rings & Things - http://ww.rings-things.com - does test their products for lead now, largely because they are serious about selling legally to customers in California, where we now have very strict lead limitations for all jewelry and jewelry components.

Here's an explanation of their program: http://www.rings-things.com/jewelry-safety.html

I really appreciate their honesty with this, and they actually have some items labeled "Not suitable for sale in California" because they tested too high for lead.

It makes me wonder if other suppliers plan to get on board.

[mylavaliere]

i get all my jump rings at rings and things, they are the best!

[KnittingCrab]

This is getting to be so Strange, why would anyone let their baby play with Wire anyway? I'm a mom of a 17 year old and am going crazy with all of this...I am soooooo happy to not have a "little" kid in the house anymore. I was always watching my kid when she was little, even when she was big...I always had "common sense" as to what to let her play with. This law is supposed to be for the 12 and unders, but it looks to be any age group now. If you have a kid whose 12...and no other kids, what's the problem? If you are a parent, you obviously have kids, even maybe babies,...so....answer me this, with respect, who can you sell to? Only poeple without any children... Strange.

[ethora]

I don't think that anybody is letting babies play with wire, but babies will reach out to touch, and maybe mouth, jewelry that is made from wire.

And I cringe whenever I see parents give their babies keys to play with.

Anyway thank you, mylavaliere, for the heads up regarding the bronze colored lead free wire. I had never heard of this company before, and they sound great. This may be an option for my customer.

[KnittingCrab]

Hi again, I'm sorry if this is off subject, please forgive me, but whatever happened to 'Parenting'? I've never let my kid stick things in her mouth, nothing was ever in her reach. I work in a store, and I see kids putting MONEY in their mouths...Money! Are we going to take all the money out of the system? Do you know what is on money, besides millions of germs, cocaine...trace amounts on All money.
My daughter never played with money. Just venting. Just disgusted. Thanks for listening. :)

[Former_Member]

Babynest: No everyone is so 100% attentive at all times.
It is impossible.

[Former_Member]

Babynest I have to agree. I think the move to take lead out of absoultely everything that a child might possibly touch is absurd. We just can't childproof the entire world.

I know parents can't be 100% attentive, but they can at least make sure the child is not eating a piece of jewelry!

[KnittingCrab]

Thank you DivineinMind. Parenting is more than just having a baby.

[ethora]

I simultaneously agree with Babynest and Trimgoddess. I take parenting very seriously (Both my kids, one who is now an adult, call me "overprotective"), yet I do understand how even the best parent cannot be there 100% of the time. This is particularly true when the child goes to school.

Babies? Sure. There is no excuse why a baby cannot be watched 100% of the time. But kids? Not so much. My own 9 year old daughter, for example, was recently caught (by me) sucking on the pendant she was wearing as she was daydreaming! This is after years of overprotective me warning her against germs and unknown metals. Thank goodness it was a lead-free piece, as I would not allow her to wear anything else, but still. What was she thinking? Well, she wasn't thinking - she's a kid! All it takes is one decent lead exposure for permanent damage to be done, and it saddens me that not only are leaded products so readily available but that so many people are ignorant of them.

This is not to say that I support the way that CPSIA has been devised and implemented. I don't. There just needs to be a better way to deal with this issue...

[KnittingCrab]

Peace.

[Former_Member]

I work in a library with 30 computers that have Internet access. Parents and caretakers come with small children and get buried in their online games. Or job-hunting. The children get bored, hungry, etc. and start fussing, but the parents need to finish their online activity in 90 minutes. So it's easy for small children to stick whatever is at hand into their mouths.

[Former_Member]

Find a supplier who KNOWS whats in their wire - that's the key. every alloy of every metal is different and may contain trace amounts of various other minerals. A good supplier will know what their products contain. FMG is a great example of being clueless about the products they sell.