Vegan Alternative To Shellac

[Namru]

The vegan life style can, if carried to extremes, be absurd, comically so.

I've yet to figure out how anyone can give up cheese, or butter.

 

I gave up eating meat some four years ago. The smell of cooking bacon makes me want to hurl. Just thinking about eating a steak makes my teeth hurt.

 

But to give up a fried brie sandwich with HP sauce on the side? Jamais jamais jamais!

[Mickey]

So do omnivore diets. Have you ever considered eating a pet, a neighbor, or yourself?

 

I used to chew my fingernails and once nearly bit through my tongue. Judging by the music they play, I doubt I'd find my neighbors to my taste.

 

You raise an interesting question regarding pets. Considering all the morale boosts I got from my dog / avatar, wouldn't having him around working as my therapist violate the strictest vegan precepts?

 

For a definitive answer to your questions, we might need to consult Valentine Michael Smith.

[Mickey]

 

I'm waiting for the old standby omnivore question of "what would you do if you were stranded on an island with just a cow?"

 

Teach her to play cribbage.

Edited July 2, 2013 by Mickey

[myn]

You might try doing a Google search for information on "Zein used in adhesives" - it is a prolamine protein found in corn and is used in adhesives, coatings, binders etc. but whether it would successfully take the place of shellac, I've no idea.

[thedeacon]

Ron Z can probably tell you more about this, but I am curious what effect the pH of inks would have on rosin or other non-shellac adhesives. Not all inks are pH neutral and may compromise the adhesive. Also, all inks contain the universal solvent (water). Since the rosin does not harden, how quickly would it wear away, relative to shellac of course.

 

Just random thoughts, as I consider the effects of eating my neighbors. They are great people, but we are pretty sure they enjoyed the 60's. We suspect they may still be enjoying parts of that era.

[FarmBoy]

Have you ever considered eating a pet, a neighbor, or yourself?

Yes. We ate Oscar. Best hamburgers I've ever eaten.

 

[chad.trent]

I've yet to figure out how anyone can give up cheese, or butter.

 

I gave up eating meat some four years ago. The smell of cooking bacon makes me want to hurl. Just thinking about eating a steak makes my teeth hurt.

 

But to give up a fried brie sandwich with HP sauce on the side? Jamais jamais jamais!

 

Cheese was one of the hardest things. I never really ate much meat so giving it up wasn't too bad. Cheese was much tougher. I'm a big pizza fan.

 

In the last few years many non-dairy cheese products have come on the market that are very close to actual cheese. Or close to what I remember cheese tasting like. It's been at least 7 years since I've had any.

[Inkysloth]

Thanks all!

I'd forgotten that piston fillers would be shellac-free - and I think that's my route at this time.

Good to know that rosin sealant doesn't really harden enough - I've never used it, so had no experience to draw on.

 

Regarding knowing that shellac finds its way into all sorts of things, I'm well aware of that. Animal products do - even Kelloggs Cornflakes (in the UK at least) have animal-derived vitamin fortification, so aren't vegan. All of the various people I know with specific dietary requirements are good at reading food labels

Edited July 2, 2013 by Inkysloth

[Gloucesterman]

Is your friend planning to eat the pen?

 

Now that was a really tasteless comment!!!

[chad.trent]

Thanks all!

I'd forgotten that piston fillers would be shellac-free - and I think that's my route at this time.

Good to know that rosin sealant doesn't really harden enough - I've never used it, so had no experience to draw on.

 

Regarding knowing that shellac finds its way into all sorts of things, I'm well aware of that. Animal products do - even Kelloggs Cornflakes (in the UK at least) have animal-derived vitamin fortification, so aren't vegan. All of the various people I know with specific dietary requirements are good at reading food labels

 

Yeah. When my wife first talked to me about going vegan, I told her that I would try it, but I wasn't going to be one of those people who reads all the ingredients on stuff all the time.

 

Now when I pick something up the first thing I do is look at the ingredient list. You have to learn what a lot of ingredients are too, as certain ones are animal based but unless you know it, you have no idea. For instance, anything red that has "carmine" or "cochneal extract" is made from crushed beetles.

[Flounder]

You know what? Regardless of any negative vibes regarding vegan beliefs, I am almost catergorically certain that the OP's question fired certain personal synapses, which specifically recall reading in a certain online pen magazine of the obsolescence of shellac, and speaking of a new age (baby) of substitute silicon retaining rings (man, can you dig it). I have since heard heard hide nor hare (or even hair) of the subject since, but if a groovy cat can set me straight, I would be much obliged. Offf to float on some tangerine dream, and what's the name of that religion with the marijuana firebaths and peacock feather dusters?

 

Flounder

[Namru]

Cheese was one of the hardest things. I never really ate much meat so giving it up wasn't too bad. Cheese was much tougher. I'm a big pizza fan.

 

In the last few years many non-dairy cheese products have come on the market that are very close to actual cheese. Or close to what I remember cheese tasting like. It's been at least 7 years since I've had any.

But look at how good the dark side looks.

[inkstainedruth]

 

If they did, I wouldn't be giving them one... no-one chews the end of a pen in my presence!

 

(Veganism is about more than diet - vegans don't *use* anything that is produced using animal products or byproducts. I'm not vegan, but I appreciate the standpoint of those that are)

True.

There used to be a place an hour or so from where I live that did animal rescue specifically for farm animals. The place put out a magazine, and my husband and I were given a copy when we went out to collect some bags of fleece from their "rescued" flock of sheep. There was an interview in the magazine with one of the founders, who said she no longer wore wool sweaters "because it's an animal byproduct". (At least the place *did* understand that the sheep needed to be sheared; of course, when the original post about the fleece got forwarded to a mailing list I'm on, I also recall reading that the fleece was clean, but I'm not sure about what their definition of "clean" was -- it sure didn't seem to include the concept of being *washed*....)

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[dcwaites]

Don't forget that one of the features that makes shellac attractive for pen repair is that it can be softened by gentle heat for removal of the sealed item. I don't think this applies to the other adhesives mentioned.

 

However, I have many pens that don't use shellac - including all of my Chinese CC pens (i.e. Jinhao X-450, Kaigelu 356, etc).

 

I also have one pen that doesn't have any adhesives at all - my TWISBI.

[nigelg]

Is your friend planning to eat the pen?

 

Well, I've bought several pens that were right lemons

[dontheo]

I think it is awesome that anyone posting on this forum has that freedom of choice. My general rule of thumb is that I try to eat a balanced diet and not consume anything that lists as an ingredient somehting I can not pronounce.

 

If I ate dog in Vietnam but didn't know until after I had eaten it does that still count?

[dcwaites]

Everything we eat/consume/use will offend someone. There are people who are horrified about lamb, pig, cow, horse, camel, goat, turtle, eel, choko, okra, rhubarb, pumpkin tips*, broccoli**, brussel sprouts, and even Soylent Green.

 

All we can do is live and eat according to our own consciences, and take care not to offend those around us.***

 

I'm off to chase down and eat a poor defenceless WeetBix for breakfast.

 

 

___________________

*Delicious cooked in freshly scraped coconut milk

**A Presidential favourite...

***That includes not cooking lambs fry anywhere near me.

[Ron Z]

OK, let's keep it on topic please..... I can move this to chatter if you wan't to discuss a vegan diet.

[dontheo]

Sorry Ron. I will just refer back to the epoxy we use when adhering a fishing rod tip to the top of the rod. Everyone breaks these and to remove its the same heating process. The part I don't know is how much heat or at what point the epoxy starts to melt vs shellac. The good news is there is a ton of data on the web and most manufacturers will send free samples.

[Sasha Royale]

I admire your devotion. In our technical culture, there have been many developments in adhesives.

Still, shellac is the most widely used in fountain pen assembly. There must be good reason.

 

While coal is vegetation, plastics are made from petroleum, which is almost entirely dead animals.

 

Good hunting.