We've scrapped our old build style and we want to tell you why.
As of Fall 2018 we have now fully committed to building all of our wood & carbon fiber rings in a way yielding rings with greater durability, a more natural look and ultimately a longer lasting ring than ever before. This method is sometimes referred to as "Solid Wood" or "All Wood" and it is a stark departure from the "Bentwood" style of ring making.
Building rings in this manner takes more time, more equipment and just as much attention to detail. Bentwood rings are made by soaking wood veneer and wrapping the thin sheets of wood around a form. In our case this was a carbon fiber ring. Using glue, and finger pressure this is then bonded together oftentimes showing off the overlap where the veneer terminates. Artists can be crafty at hiding this in a ring but sometimes due to wood grain mismatch, it just isn't possible to hide. Furthermore, the glue used in this process is not very durable. Although it is beautiful for the first few weeks, maybe months, we have found they do not last much beyond a year or two.
Enter our newly adopted and recently honed craft of all wood ring construction! For this method of ring making we take solid blocks of wood and in a process of oven baking & vacuum infusion of stabilizing resin we are able to make wood blanks that exhibit far greater durability than their original self's. These blanks then get machined to spec, then fitted to the carbon fiber ring on which or in which the design is intended. The final touch (or multiple touches) is to finish off the shaping and a final application of linseed / orange or other natural oils to the wood.
We prefer and build our wood rings with a carbon fiber liner or shell for exponentially greater strength and longevity.
As for continued care of our "solid wood" rings, we suggest you limit water exposure. We also understand however that is wildly impossible to do this all the time and so we further recommend you oil your ring every so often based upon its appearance though technically this should not be necessary as the infusion process mentioned above all but seals off most of the wood grains pores. It is important to note that although these rings are far greater in our opinion than bentwood made rings, they are still made of natural wood which is not known to be the most durable of natural materials. Luckily however it is one of the most beautiful and we feel we do a pretty damn good job of capturing that.
