Dead People and Jewelry

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

About two or three times a year I have the unique job of making up a piece of jewelry with the cremains of someone's dearly departed. The latest was a job to make a pendant holding the ashes of the two deceased twin daughters of a woman. I used a fancy ,hollow, pendant and cut off the bottom. I filled it with the ashes and welded the bottom back on.

I greeted the customer, ( and old friend) and after a brief Hello, I let one of the sales associates take care of writing the job up. She didn't know what we were talking about doing (I had previously discussed the job by phone with the customer), so I told her to just write up the top of the form and I would fill in the job description. When she finished doing the intake paperwork and brought me the job. She gave me the paperwork and the zip-lock bag of cremains. She asked what I was going to do with the sand? I told her it wasn't sand, it was the ashes from the two dead twins of the woman. The gal nearly fainted! She actually had to go in the back and sit down to compose herself.

I can't for the life of me understand why a person would hang the ashes of someone around their neck, but reason has nothing to do with it.
Several years ago,I had a person have me cast a ring, adding the deceased husbands ashes to the gold of their wedding bands during melt. I know that it just burns off and does not combine in the alloy, but there is no reason or logic to sentiment. She loved the job.
Stacy

 

[JCaswell]

Wow. Interesting stuff.

There was this gal that was into Wicca that found out I made knives by pattern welding.
She wanted to give me a vial of her blood to 'forge into the blade', presumably by applying it to the layers before welding.
Like the ashes, it too would just burn off, but

I didn't do it.

 

[Barkes Knife Shop]

Well I hope no one from my family calls you when I die. That was very interesting to read.

 

[grease-man]

Somehow that doesn't surprise me Stacy. You've probably heard that you can have ashes launched into space or loaded into shotgun shell to be shot by a hunter. There are other crazy things that people do as well. Is there something wrong with an urn? -Matt-

 

[deker]

Stacy, have you heard of or used life gems? It's a similar idea, but I think a little nicer.

-d

 

[scottickes]

I can't for the life of me understand why a person would hang the ashes of someone around their neck, but reason has nothing to do with it.
Several years ago,I had a person have me cast a ring, adding the deceased husbands ashes to the gold of their wedding bands during melt. I know that it just burns off and does not combine in the alloy, but there is no reason or logic to sentiment. She loved the job.
Stacy

Stacy,

Does it really just burn off? Cremains are, after all, basically carbon powder, are they not? I'm thinking that with steel, some of it might actually combine with the iron. As far as gold is concerned, I don't have a clue.

Ickie

 

[scottickes]

Stacy, have you heard of or used life gems? It's a similar idea, but I think a little nicer.

-d

I heard about this a while back. My wife and I actually discussed this. She is adament about wanting to be cremated and I'm adament about not wanting her sitting on the mantel.

I think I'm going to make her into a ring. Then I'll sell her on Ebay! (<<<just kidding about the Ebay thingie) But, think about it. How many men would love to be able to sell their wife off? It would be a way for a wife to keep on giving, even after she's gone.

Ickie

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

The cremains are mostly calcium compounds and such. The carbon is long gone as CO2.
It looks like crushed limestone. There is some darker material,too,depending on how long they were cremated. When you add powdered carbon to molten gold (and to molten iron) it just combines with the dross and cleans off the surface to a shiny puddle of metal. The last thing before casting the mold is to toss a small anount of casting flux on the metal to make it dead clean and flow smooth. The flux is potassium nitrate, flurospar, and powdered charcoal. There is no added carbon in the gold under assay.
Stacy

 

[JCaswell]

You've probably heard that you can have ashes launched into space or loaded into shotgun shell to be shot by a hunter....

I knew a guy that was into the whole swashbuckling, pirate, reenacting sort of thing.
He died pretty young and (as per his wishes) was cremated, loaded into a canister and fired from a cannon aboard the Hawaiian Chieftain (a tall ship) into the waters off southern California.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Perhaps I'll have mine ground superfine and secretly dumped into the vat at the Tampax plant. (Just kidding, but the thought is fun)

Seriously, What do you guys want to do with your ashes?

Mine?:
Ashes added to the smelt of a 10,000 pound billet of 1084 and rolled into 1.5X.25 stock ,cut in 36" lengths. The bars would be given away free at the Blade show, to the ABS school, and any organization that teaches forging.

Stacy

 

[warrior24]

I thought the remains were bone fragments.I am partially sure thats what they said on the history channel.

 

[David Schott]

I have very specific plans for my ashes. I will ask that whoever knew me well enough to care and is able to hike, to together to the top of Mt Lafayette in the White Mountains and for myself to be scattered into a strong gust of wind. It has been a special spot my entire life and I view the potential hardship of the hike for some family members as something that should be seen as meaningful rather than annoying. I want no lasting impression anywhere of my existence beyond the memories in those who knew me, maybe a few knives floating around the world, and my direct descendants.

I dont need some stanger mowing the lawn above my corpse for the next 300 years and you can bet yer ass I aint rotting in some box.

 

[tyr_shadowblade]

I thought the remains were bone fragments.I am partially sure thats what they said on the history channel.

It depends upon bone density of the deceased as well as the procedures used by the crematorium. Cremains are typically a mixture of powder and fragments of varying size. A frail individual would be reduced to dust, whereas an athlete may have large chunks of baked bone that survive the crushers. Typical bag of cremains is about the size of a softball and weighs over a pound -- too much material to load into a shotgun shell or melt into a wedding band. There will be leftovers for sure.

 

[Justin.Mercier]

I have very specific plans for my ashes. I will ask that whoever knew me well enough to care and is able to hike, to together to the top of Mt Lafayette in the White Mountains and for myself to be scattered into a strong gust of wind. It has been a special spot my entire life and I view the potential hardship of the hike for some family members as something that should be seen as meaningful rather than annoying. I want no lasting impression anywhere of my existence beyond the memories in those who knew me, maybe a few knives floating around the world, and my direct descendants.

I dont need some stanger mowing the lawn above my corpse for the next 300 years and you can bet yer ass I aint rotting in some box.

Mt Lafayette , and the rest of the Franconia notch area is absolutely gorgeous. I was at the lafayette campgroud when the picture of myself in my strathclyde district tartan (blue and black) in the xmass knife exchange thread was taken this fall. I used to go camping up there every year, though as of late i've only been up for the NH Highland Games.