How Damascus Stainless Steel Rings Are Made

At Andrew Nyce Designs, every ring has its own story. This is the story of your Damascus Stainless Steel ring.

All Damascus Stainless Steel rings are hand-crafted with an attention to detail. The process used to create your unique, one-of-a-kind ring is complex.

I have tried to describe this process in an easy-to-understand manner. Contact me with any questions.


One-on-One Consultation What's in Stock A Trusted Supplier From Bars to Blanks Adorned Collection Rings Embraced Collection Rings Tiered Collection Rings Contours and Comfort Tumble Hardening and Burnishing Etching the Surface Finishing the Surface Gemstones with Settings Flush and Channel Set Diamonds Direct to You

One-on-One Consultation The story begins with your initial inquiry to Andrew Nyce Designs about Damascus Stainless Steel rings and our subsequent conversation about the design of your ring. This one-on-one consultation may include deciding which ring design style, Damascus patterns, and depth of etch best suit you and your personal sense of taste and style. As part of this discussion, a decision on which ring design elements will added to your ring, including, liners, edges, channels or gemstones.
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What’s in Stock I first check to see if I have Damascus Stainless Steel in the selected pattern in stock in my studio. If I do, your ring is created from this material. Skip to From Bars to Blanks. If I do not, an order is placed for the custom made Damascus Stainless Steel that I will use to make your ring.
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A Trusted Supplier Several years ago, I started working with Damasteel, a Swedish company that specializes in making heat-treatable Damascus for knife makers. Through our relationship, I have worked with them to obtain custom Damascus patterns that are unique to the rings that I make. All Damascus patterns I use are derived from a combination of 304L and 316L stainless steel; this combination is 100% corrosion-resistant. The Damascus Stainless Steel is supplied in the form of both flat and round bars. Ring blanks are machined from these starting product forms.
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From Bars to Blanks Initially, when I started making Damascus Stainless Steel rings, I used band saws, drill presses and grinding wheels to carve the rings from the bar stock. This made the fabrication of the rings very labor intensive. In order to increase productivity and lower costs, I began using a different technique. Today, I use wire EDM (Electro Discharge Machining) technology to cut ring blanks from the flat or round Damascus Stainless Steel bars. Using a drill press, holes are created in the ring blanks. Following this step, I use a bench top lathe to machine the rings blanks to final dimensions.
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Adorned Collection Rings If you selected a liner for your Damascus Stainless Steel ring, a tube of Gold, Platinum-enhanced Sterling Silver, Platinum, or Palladium alloy with a wall thickness of between 0.75mm and 1mm is used as the liner. The tube is placed inside the Damascus Stainless Steel band and soldered to it. If you selected edges for your Damascus Stainless Steel ring, two narrow rings of Gold, Platinum, or Palladium alloy between 0.75mm and 1mm wide are used. These rings are placed along the side of the Damascus Stainless Steel band and soldered to it. Embraced Collection Rings If you selected a channel for your Damascus Stainless Steel ring, a tube of Gold, Platinum-enhanced Sterling Silver, Platinum, or Palladium alloy with a wall thickness of between 0.75mm and 1mm and an overall width of 10mm to 14mm is used as the channel. The tube is placed inside the Damascus Stainless Steel band and soldered to it. The ends of the tube are forged around the Damascus Stainless Steel band to form the edges of the channel. A final soldering step is applied to completely bond the forged channel to the Damascus Stainless Steel band. If you selected a Stainless Steel channel for your ring, a tube of Stainless Steel is used as the channel. First, a groove is machined into the tube. The tube is placed inside the Damascus Stainless Steel band. Then, the tube is stretched in order to capture the Damascus Stainless Steel band in the groove. Tiered Collection Rings If you selected a multi-level liner with edges for your Damascus Stainless Steel ring, a tube of Gold, Platinum-enhanced Sterling Silver, Platinum, or Palladium alloy with a wall thickness of between 0.75mm and 1mm and an overall width of between 7mm and 11mm is used as the liner. The tube, generally, is wider than the band of Damascus Stainless Steel. The tube is placed inside the Damascus Stainless Steel band and soldered to it. Two narrow rings of Gold, Platinum, or Palladium alloy between 0.75mm and 1mm wide are used. These rings are slipped over the tube and soldered to it.
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Contours and Comfort Preliminary finishing operations are performed in order to build in surface contours and comfort fits. I use a combination of hand tools and high speed abrasive and polishing equipment to accomplish this.
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Tumble Hardening and Burnishing Next, the ring is tumbled in either a rotary or vibratory tumbler filled with stainless steel shot; this process both hardens the surface of the Damascus Stainless Steel ring and burnishes it in preparation for the final finishing steps.	Tumbler
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Etching the Surface After contouring, comfort fit, and tumble hardening, the Damascus Stainless Steel band is etched by placing it in a heated, magnetically-stirred polyethylene or Pyrex glass container filled with acid. After etching, the Damascus band is first placed in a rinse containing baking soda to neutralize any residual acid. Then, the Damascus band is placed in an ultrasonic cleaner to remove the by-products from etching process. Finishing the Surface Then, your ring is finished with either a matte or polished surface. The ring is cleaned in a high pressure steam in order to remove remnants of the finishing medium.
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Gemstones with Settings If you selected a gemstone for your Damascus Stainless Steel ring, a setting of 14K or 18K Gold, Platinum, or Palladium is laser welded to the ring. The diamond is set. Final finishing for the setting and weld area is performed. Flush and Channel Set Diamonds If you selected a flush set diamond for your Damascus Stainless Steel ring, a hole is drilled through the surface of the ring at the appropriate location. A setting tool is used to form a seat in the hole on which the diamond will sit. The diamond is placed in the hole and is pressed onto the seat. A special tool is used to move a small amount of metal over the top edge of the diamond all the way around; this action sets the diamond in place. As a final step, the edges of the hole are cleaned up. Multiple flush set diamonds can be placed on a ring. If you selected a channel set diamond for your Damascus Stainless Steel ring, a groove is formed on the surface of the ring using high-speed cutting tools. A seat is formed within the groove on which the diamonds will sit. Preliminary cleaning of the groove is performed to ensure uniformity. Then, the diamonds are set in the groove and pushed against the seat. A special tool is used to move a small amount of metal over the top edge of the diamonds; this action sets the diamonds in place. As a final step, the edges of the groove are cleaned up.
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Direct to You The entire ring-making process takes place over a period of between 2 to 4 weeks. The final step in this process involves inspecting the completed ring, packaging it along with a ring care kit, and shipping it directly to you.
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