Blades and Bling - Traditional Knives and Jewelry

used my last day of vacation to do a little ring work

m4FGGLN.jpeg
 
waynorth said:
I collect both!! I'd love to see more of your work!!View attachment 2661237View attachment 2661227
Click to expand...
Very fine collection!
Beautiful
waynorth said:
I collect both!! I'd love to see more of your work!!View attachment 2661237View attachment 2661227
Click to expand...
Beautiful collection! Lotta nice old turquoise there in those rings. Awesome variety of stones from famous mines. Those strands of stones are very nice as well! You have a great eye. You’re missing a concho belt and a squash blossom to fully round out your collection!

I’m fairly new to silversmithing but I wanted to learn after hearing how my mother, grandma and aunts worked in a small assembly line to make Sterling silver similar to the ones you have! Each bead requires at least 12 different steps and so they aren’t made in the same volume of rings. I think I finally made an acceptable version. After experimenting with silver gauge, different techniques and stamping I created this 24.5 inch, 4.23 oz stamped beaded necklace (Navajo Pearls).
IMG_9690.jpeg
IMG_9689.jpeg
IMG_9688.jpeg
IMG_9687.jpeg


After getting hounded by family members I threw together a ring with a thick bezel which is a newer style of ring. Big bezel with an even bigger stone!
IMG_9692.jpeg

This one may interest you a bit more: I heard stories and read of early silversmiths using coins to make jewelry and I wanted to challenge myself so I bought a bunch of Buffalo/Indian Nickels and painstakingly formed them into beads! It’s not as nice as I’d like it but I think it came out fine! It is also extremely heavy and took a lot of hammering to form them
IMG_9691.jpeg
 

Attachments

  • IMG_9687.jpeg
    IMG_9687.jpeg
    102.2 KB · Views: 3
Nizhoni said:
Very fine collection!
Beautiful

Beautiful collection! Lotta nice old turquoise there in those rings. Awesome variety of stones from famous mines. Those strands of stones are very nice as well! You have a great eye. You’re missing a concho belt and a squash blossom to fully round out your collection!

I’m fairly new to silversmithing but I wanted to learn after hearing how my mother, grandma and aunts worked in a small assembly line to make Sterling silver similar to the ones you have! Each bead requires at least 12 different steps and so they aren’t made in the same volume of rings. I think I finally made an acceptable version. After experimenting with silver gauge, different techniques and stamping I created this 24.5 inch, 4.23 oz stamped beaded necklace (Navajo Pearls).
View attachment 2734121
View attachment 2734122
View attachment 2734123
View attachment 2734125


After getting hounded by family members I threw together a ring with a thick bezel which is a newer style of ring. Big bezel with an even bigger stone!
View attachment 2734126

This one may interest you a bit more: I heard stories and read of early silversmiths using coins to make jewelry and I wanted to challenge myself so I bought a bunch of Buffalo/Indian Nickels and painstakingly formed them into beads! It’s not as nice as I’d like it but I think it came out fine! It is also extremely heavy and took a lot of hammering to form them
View attachment 2734130
Click to expand...

buffalo nickels dont have any silver in them, war nickels did. US change had silver up until a certain point. dimes, quarters and halves stopped being silver after 1964. halves were silver up until 64, then clad from 65-70, but kennedy half 70 were mint sets. silver dollar coins ceased production in the 30s and there was a rumor of a return in 1964 but never happened. some of my early experiments with junk silver coins resulted in tiny bowls
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top