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 Post subject: Stainless steel mokume gane
PostPosted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 7:46 pm 
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We've been working on this for months and have finally gotten our process down well enough to make these on a limited commercial basis. These are made of layers of 304 and 316 stainless steel and then the 304 is etched to give this wood grain effect. What a challenge this has been. First getting the metal to bond well enough to withstand the torturous manipulation that we put it through and then making a seamless band of the correct size from a rectangular billet...it makes my hammer hand sore just thinking about it.

Our Facebook page says that we are not setting stones in this material, but I've been messing around with it and it looks to me like this will not be a problem as long as the stones are quite hard, (sapphire, diamond, maybe spinel, chrysoberyl, etc), and not too big. The funny thing about stainless is that it moves pretty nicely, once. It work hardens so fast that any messing around with it after the initial stone set, and you may as well be pressing on a rock.

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 Post subject: Re: Stainless steel mokume gane
PostPosted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 8:00 pm 
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I usually see rings such as these referred to as damascus, I am curious as to your decision to label them as mokume instead. Any particular reason? (and please understand that the tone of my question is not intended to be challenging, I am simply curious).

As to setting stones, I will tell you from experience that I found it best to set stones in precious metal tubes and insetting the tubes into the steel. This provided an easier setting experience and a safer cushion for the stones.

I also found that the spring and tension of stainless allowed for nice tension settings when used with durable stones.

As a side note, I switch between two "damascus/mokume" rings as my weddign bands and have been wearing them for over 5 years. I have found them to be durable and attractive alternatives to the traditional options.

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 Post subject: Re: Stainless steel mokume gane
PostPosted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 10:21 pm 
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path914 wrote:
I usually see rings such as these referred to as damascus, I am curious as to your decision to label them as mokume instead. Any particular reason? (and please understand that the tone of my question is not intended to be challenging, I am simply curious).


Hi Paul,
I asked Jim this question out of curiosity too. He explained that since everything else he has been making for the last 30 years has been mokume, and that this material is nearly identical in the way it looks, that calling it mokume would be more fitting and less confusing for his client base. Also, mokume gane is a descriptive term and this material fits the traditional look of mokume. After looking at different mokume and damascus patterning it becomes pretty apparent that they both have a wide range of pattern possibilities and that the names are close to being interchangable, (other than that damascus seems to be mostly ferrous metals). Could you post a picture of your ring? It sounds interesting!

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 Post subject: Re: Stainless steel mokume gane
PostPosted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 12:46 pm 
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I'll try to get some pics of my rings soon. I made mine out of damascus steel blank material originally designed for knife blades. I did not do the forging of the two metals as that is quite beyond my capabilities.

One is a solid band that is welded together and not very cleanly done (I simply keep the weld joint at the base of my finger and no one is the wiser :wink: ), the other is a tension setting with a single small rb diamond. They require occasional sanding and finishing to keep the patterns visible as I have found that I have a very acidic body chemistry that tarnishs metals rapidly, but this is not very challenging as it can be accomplished in a few minutes without much loss of material.

My wife also has a smaller version of the solid band that she uses as a "travel" ring and for other times that her more traditional rings are a bit too flashy.

I can't wait to see Jim's take on this material as I am sure it will be fantastic like the rest of his work.

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 Post subject: Re: Stainless steel mokume gane
PostPosted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 3:34 pm 
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michael_e wrote:

Our Facebook page says .


which page? i'd love to see that.

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albé

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 Post subject: Re: Stainless steel mokume gane
PostPosted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 9:25 pm 
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Here's a link Alberto, thanks for asking!
http://www.facebook.com/Binnion.Mokume?fref=ts

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 Post subject: Re: Stainless steel mokume gane
PostPosted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 12:44 am 
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Here are my two bands with very poor cellphone pics. The tension ring is set with a small rb diamond. Both bands were made from Devin Thomas roses and vines patterned Damascus steel typically used for knife blades or handles.

Image

Image

Image

Image

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 Post subject: Re: Stainless steel mokume gane
PostPosted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:31 am 
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Thanks for the pictures Paul! I really like those rings and especially like the round patterning, (roses?), in the metal. That tension set ring is very different as well. Good thing that those sharp points are close to your finger, they'd be a potential weapon if they protruded at all. Very well made pieces. It must have been a bear welding the first ring shown. If you ever get to the point of making another one you might try a medium temperature gold solder. I was messing around with that the other day and it flows and bonds pretty well if you use a good brazing type flux.

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 Post subject: Re: Stainless steel mokume gane
PostPosted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 11:27 pm 
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Lol, notice that I did not show the weld joint... It is not pretty, just a big shiny blob. Hence the tension ring, which avoided the issue entirely :wink:

I am extremely hard on my rings (based on my two broken gold bands) and these have held up for years without any issues at all. I'm excited to see other, more professional options on the market.

Do you know if your rings will be lined? I do get a small amount of rust on the inside of my bands that I simply polish off occasionally. Mine were originally lined in sterling silver, but that is long gone.

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 Post subject: Re: Stainless steel mokume gane
PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 11:15 pm 
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path914 wrote:
Do you know if your rings will be lined? I do get a small amount of rust on the inside of my bands that I simply polish off occasionally. Mine were originally lined in sterling silver, but that is long gone.


The only lining that Jim has mentioned so far has been to do so with titanium. I suppose that if someone were to want one lined in a gold alloy he'd be willing to do that as well. It does seem a little strange to use a gold liner on a ring designed to be lower cost, as the liners start out as complete gold rings which are cut on a lathe and then expanded up to firmly grasp the outer ring. Using a silver liner wouldn't last too long as you've mentioned.

Rusting can be caused by welding, (we used to have that problem when I worked in the fruit processing machinery industry too). It's pretty easy to eliminate with a seamless ring in that all we need to do is to passivate the metal with a good long hot chemical soak to remove any residual surface iron particles. Straight out of the bath, the chrome in the stainless immediately oxidizes into a hard corrosion resistant layer which prevents rust very well.

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