Strike the Bands.

Oh man, we’re on fast forward to get a few bands ready for a wedding in February.   I love making bands.  This is a zen thing.  You slice off a bit of wax like a piece of christmas cookie dough and start filing away.  It takes a LONG time but this is how I like to do them.

Yeah, some guys make bands from strips of silver.  They hammer them into a circle and solder them shut.  Not me.  My stuff (bands included) is cast as one piece.  So we’re going to sculpt these f’ers out solid.

 

The wax is sized up to the clients’ finger size, taking into account a bit of shrinkage when we cast in sterling or gold.  I’ll comfort fit the inside as well so it fits right.  Then we start to file away the outer wall of the wax to set the thickness of the bands.

 

Don’t get me started.  Too many bands are made like you’re not supposed to notice you’re wearing a ring.  Bullshit.  Even a band like this is a sculpture and it should have some physical substance.  I make ’em thick and heavy, just like the rest of my stuff.  Way it is.

Next up I’ll set up a channel.  This will house our carving and help protect it from everyday dings and dents.

 

 

Plus, I just dig the channel look.  It creates more planes for the light to catch on what might otherwise be a very smooth surface.

So there we are: done.  Sort of.  At least we’re done with the base.  Now it’s decision time.  See, Ron and his lady Michelle want these rings to go with some other pieces I’ve made them.

Ron’s going to wear his ring everyday and Michelle will occasionally wear hers with this engagement ring I carved up for them pretty recently:

 

So now it’s decision time.

For Ron’s I think I got it covered:

 

For Michelle, there are two ways we can go:

 

 

Option 1 is a straight band, much like a miniature version of Ron’s    Option 2 has a ‘pinch’ in the band to make room for the heart and cross from the engagement ring.

Ron and Michelle – let me know which way we’re going as soon as humanly possible.  We’re really under a tight crunch here so the sooner you email me, the better.

Stay tuned!

 

 

EOD

I’ve finished what might be the final arrangement for the wax for Jason’s awesome EOD ring.

 

You can tell three things by looking at this wax.

1.  You would not want to try to sleep in this ring.

2.  You would not want Jason to punch you.

3.  Jason will be unable to get anything out of his pockets while wearing this ring.

Hey, Jason said he’s cool with it so we’re going this way.  Truthfully, I’m all for it.  I’m not sure what the limit is for massive, pointy, rings, but this ain’t even it.   Still, it’s for a serious badass only.

 

 

More waxes being worked on in the studio, but nothing super custom yet.  Custom skull rings and signets to come with the new site update (still in the works) but in the meantime it’s business as usual.    If you’re thinking of ordering something for Valentine’s Day, please make sure you get your orders to me before Thursday of this week.

 

On a side note, yours truly is fighting in NAGA on February 1st so I’ve been a little distracted.  I have necks to choke.  Wish me luck.