Any Damascus ring makers, opinions?

M

Mtnclimber69

Joined
Oct 23, 2002
Messages
1,147
Hi there,

Considering getting a damascus ring made for my future wedding....

I would like to hear people's opinions on Damascus for a ring, meaning are there issues with rust/reactions/discoloration?

Who are the makers you have seen or heard about making a good ring? I am not into the gold mixes, might go for silver or white gold as a lining though.

Cheers, -Peter
 
You can also get Mokume rings on jewerly websites. They look a lot like damascus.
 
Thanks guys... I think I would like to try to keep things to a US maker, just to keep it simple on myself... and while those rings are really niec I am looking for simple damascus without the gold and additions to the ring...

I have seen makers like Mitch Lum, who seems to make a nice one, but would still like to hear any feedback about the real-life wear and tear?

Does anyone here have one?

Cheers
 
There's a guy here in Vermont named Jonathon Loose, that makes them. I only know about him from his website, but he looks like he's very talented.

www.jloose.com
 
Thanks, I am chatting with Jon and he seems like a good option...

Still curious to learn how well they will hold up... sure would suck to have to buy a new ring in a year.
 
j. arthur loose does excellent work. if you are afraid of corrosion you might go for mokume instead of steel. there's a nice example on don fogg's forum, made from white gold and sterling silver:

http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=4242&st=0

but in general corrosion shouldn't be an issue because people usually wear wedding rings all the time, so the rings are "polished" and oiled regularly.

(see also j. arthur's post on don's forum: http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=2346&hl=mokume+rings)

a friend of mine and his wife have steel damascus rings. the only problem they had was when they spent some time at the sea where the rings were exposed to sea water for a long time, but the stains (not rust) were easily removed by the maker without damaging the damascus pattern.

good luck!
brightred
 
I gave my girlfriend one of SaraMi Liljeholm's ring about three years ago.She(SaraMi)is now married to Roger Bergh and uses his damascus(though I believe she may be doing her own forging of late).The ring is worn daily and there have been no issues with the damascus as far as rust or stains.She cleans the ring as she does the rest of her jewelry and it still looks great to this day.I don't think you should be worried about it holding up.
 
Jürgen Schanz makes several different ring styles, with and without gold. I've seen them in person and they are really very nice indeed.
 
Thanks guys,

I am less interested in timascus as the 'colors' are not that of the damascus and well, not it's just not damascus!

I forwarded the info for J. Loose to my fiancee and she promptly replied that she sent him email.. so we shall see what happens next.

Oh, Robert... no problem, I always prefer to support locally... though that is getting harder to do lately.

Cheers!
 
Phillip Baldwin made it for me in 1997. I do not think that he would make one for you, but I am responding to your question of durability.

Mine has a gold liner and sides, the metals in the pattern weld are monel and mild steel. There is no seam in the piece, it was machined out of a block. I have very acid skin, and the mild steel has "ghosted" quite a bit, but the monel is going pretty strong. There is a very good chance that the ring will last its' intended span.

I would recommend a gold or white gold or platinum liner, and would also recommend stainless damascus from an upkeep standpoint, but that is your choice. Delbert Ealy mentioned doing rings when I saw him at Ashokan.

Good luck, and best wishes.

STeven Garsson
 
I've got a Mike Draper titanium and damascus ring and it rocks! Have to polish it from time to time though.

ring1.jpg
 
Thanks for the pic, Steven!

So it was from Mike rather than Audra.
Well, I got it half right...it was a Draper! :D


Great ring, by the way.


B.
 
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