Fusion Damascus Ring
By Heather Harvey
Heavin Forge, Belfast, South Africa
www.heavinforge.co.za +27 (0) 87 808 4413
A HAND MADE RING MADE FROM HAND-FORGED
DAMASCUS STEEL, AS UNIQUE AS A FINGERPRINT.
TRUE FUSION
The Fusion Damascus Ring symbolizes the life-long “bond” between two people. Forging a union between two individual steels, each with a distinctive “personality”. When fused under the power of the fire and hammer, creates an entity stronger and more beautiful than the individual on its own.
WHAT IS DAMASCUS STEEL?
Over 2000 years ago man needed to create a strong steel. This he did by forge-welding and folding high and low carbon steels at high temperatures to create a steel that was flexible but hard enough to hold an edge. The pattern in the steel can be manipulated and is brought out by etching the steel in acid. Damascus steel was perfected by the Japanese and Vikings and it was believed to have magical properties. There are very few bladesmiths who make their own Damascus steel these days and it is a rare and collectible material usually used for knife blades.
HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR RING
Damascus steel can rust if not cared for. You may experience a slight dark line on your finger under the ring for the first day or two, this will disappear. Please dry your ring well when you wash your hands and don’t leave it lying in water as it will then rust. If you wear the ring often, it will pick up the oils from your skin and with the constant friction, will require little maintenance. If however, you store your ring for any length of time, rub a little Museum Wax or Vaseline onto it to prevent rust. If your ring does pick up a bit of rust, just rub it with a little metal polish and wax it. The more you wear your ring, the more beautiful it will look.
THE MAKING OF YOUR RING
When people ask me how long it takes to make a Damascus ring, I answer “25 years” as that is the time it has taken for me to perfect my craft, and I am still learning. I start by grinding clean high carbon steel, high nickel tool steel and pure nickel. I start with about 5 to 9 layers which I then heat up in a gas forge to about 1 400 degrees C. I forge weld these layers together, draw them out to twice their original length and then fold the steel, doubling the layer count. This is repeated until I have between 150 to 300 layers. I then pattern the steel and flatten it again before it is annealed at 750 degrees C, cooling for 16 hours. I then acid pickle the steel to get rid of the fire scale. The steel is then surface ground and I begin marking out the ring. I start with a solid disc of steel and bore out the middle using a lathe. This is the only way I can achieve a solid ring without any joint, it does mean however that most of the Damascus is then sacrificed to the “Damascus gods”! I then shape the outside of the ring, free hand on a grinder, polish the inside and outside of the ring, degrease it and etch it in ferric chloride for a few hours. The ring is then buffed and waxed. It is a long, hot, labor intensive process to reveal the beauty of the steel, but worth the effort.
A NOTE TO JEWELLERS
Damascus is a ferrous steel and unlike non-ferrous metals, it cannot be re-sized. If you are lining the ring, use a “finger push fit” as you cannot force the Damascus open. If the ring looks dull, it can be lightly buffed and re-waxed. Phone me if you have any questions.
ABOUT HEATHER HARVEY
Heather originally trained as a farrier in the U.S.A, after shoeing horses for many years she developed a very bad allergy to horses and turned to traditional blacksmithing, running the blacksmith shop at Gold Reef City for 10 years. She began making and selling Damascus steel in 1995. She met Kevin Harvey at Gold Reef City where he had the knife making shop. Heather learned to make knives from Kevin and he learned to make Damascus from her. They combined their workshops and moved to a small holding in Belfast, Mpumalanga in 2001, together with their dogs and horses, here they make knives and swords together and offer courses on bladesmithing. In between all the work they enjoy fly-fishing, horse riding and 4 x 4ing. Kevin and Heather are both Master Bladesmiths with the American Bladesmith Society, members of the Knifemakers’ Guild of Southern Africa and Heather is the second only lady Master Bladesmith in the world.