Setting Gemstones in Stainless?

[Travis Fry]

So I've never set gemstones before. I'm aware of the basic principles, and I have or can get the tooling I need, probably. I'm considering changing the profile of the end of the quillons and pommel of this little dagger and setting a blue spinel in the end of each. It'd also be REALLY cool to have a little ring of tiny spinels around each part, near then end. Parts are all stainless, and I don't want to add prongs or bezels.

So the question isn't really whether this is possible, but whether it's advisable to try to flush set gemstones given my lack of specific experience in a notoriously difficult substrate. Also, what tools specifically might I need beyond my Foredom and the right burs? I assume something for extremely delicate peening?

The alternative is to tidy things up a bit and call this one done without all the gemstone mess, but it would never be as cool as it could be if I do that.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

That's not something you are likely to be successful at with no experience.
I would suggest hard soldering a bezel or setting of platinum or white gold at the ends and having a jeweler set the stones.

 

[Richard338]

I have used the presets sold by Jantz.
They are OK and very easy to use, but they simply don't look like the high-end work you see in art daggers.

 

[gator68]

From my experience... you need to deform metal to hold the stone in place. So you can use a setting burr to cut the seat, but then you need some way to hold the stone in. A few ideas... 1) inlay a softer metal into the SS, then you can use standard jewelry techniques to create a flush setting. 2. flex your graver skills and create a pave-type setting directly in the SS. Though this seems risky to me in SS.

 

[Travis Fry]

From my experience... you need to deform metal to hold the stone in place. So you can use a setting burr to cut the seat, but then you need some way to hold the stone in. A few ideas... 1) inlay a softer metal into the SS, then you can use standard jewelry techniques to create a flush setting. 2. flex your graver skills and create a pave-type setting directly in the SS. Though this seems risky to me in SS.

Thanks for the links. There's a lot of good information over at Ganoskin that I'd not looked through.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

In stainless, most experienced folks will turn the job down. As Bill and gator said, you will have to come up with some way to add a soft metal bezel or plate.. One option is to drill and tap the ends and ten solder a threaded stud on the back of the bezels you will add. They can then be set and screwed in place.
As for putting a ring of pave' set small stones in the stainless quillions ... good luck with that. The only option I see there is to make up a ring and set the stones (like an anniversary band). Then turn the ends to allow the ring of stones to slide on snugly. Once that is in place, screw on the aforementioned end bezel.

None of the above procedures are for a novice.

 

[Travis Fry]

Thanks y'all. I figured this was a longshot, and will just finish this one up as is and pursue the idea of setting stones in future projects.

 

[Travis Fry]

Just as a follow-up, this thread got me thinking and reading and watching a lot of YouTube videos, and I ended up signing up for a semester long jewelry making course at the local community college. It seems to be a pretty solid program, from what I can gather. The first semester covers soldering, bezel setting, and quite a few other of the basics. I'll likely take quite a few other courses over the next few years (one more general fab course, a couple on stone setting, a couple on casting) if this proves useful. I've always been interested in this, so thanks for the nudge from all y'all to finally take the plunge. In the short term it looks like I'll be making rings and pendants and such, but it's a step toward what I really want to be doing.

 

[Natlek]

Well , I will just glue this ruby in the hole .....looks enough good to me

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Nice!

Just a technical note - those are actually pink sapphires. Corundum is the stone's name. Corundum is also called sapphire. All colors of sapphire/corundum except red are called sapphire, and true red sapphires are called ruby. Sapphire is the only stone that naturally comes in every color from black to white and colorless. The name ruby used to be used only for the color called pigeon-blood red, but now any full red sapphire is called ruby. The pink and purple stones are called pink sapphire and purple sapphire.

 

[A.McPherson]

I don't know if this would work out not, but you could try inlaying a thick piece of silver or gold, then drill holes in the softer metal to place your gemstones...

 

[Natlek]

Nice!

Just a technical note - those are actually pink sapphires. Corundum is the stone's name. Corundum is also called sapphire. All colors of sapphire/corundum except red are called sapphire, and true red sapphires are called ruby. Sapphire is the only stone that naturally comes in every color from black to white and colorless. The name ruby used to be used only for the color called pigeon-blood red, but now any full red sapphire is called ruby. The pink and purple stones are called pink sapphire and purple sapphire.

I know that Stacy .We just call them here red ruby , pink ruby ...etc .There are a lot of them in the area where I live. As children we found a lot of them ... my brother still keeps one big as a fist .
My friend grind this one on picture ............You would like to meat him , he use tools for grinding precious stones same as in ancient times....he doesn’t let me take pictures or record when I’m in his shop .
This is of topic but i think that you would like to read................

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I don't know if this would work out not, but you could try inlaying a thick piece of silver or gold, then drill holes in the softer metal to place your gemstones...

I thought of something like that and I'll probably try it . The hole at end is the reverse cone just for that , to hold metal or epoxy better ......

 

[Richard338]

Well , I will just glue this ruby in the hole .....looks enough good to me

The stone looks nice in that location. Maybe my monitor is a little big, but it seems that the wood slabs need a much closer fit to look their best and not be a distraction...

 

[Natlek]

The stone looks nice in that location. Maybe my monitor is a little big, but it seems that the wood slabs need a much closer fit to look their best and not be a distraction...

These are temporary there Richard . I used them just to shape guard and butt ..........................long story

Integral knife

I like to try to make one small integral knife .I will use thick 52100 steel for one and thick 5160 for other one.I will not forge them , stock removal is much easier to do for me . Question i have is this ..........Is it OK to make integral knife with forge welded parts for bolster and pommel...

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