Excited About Angel's Envy
If you are a bourbon fan and you haven't had Angel's Envy, you need to address that situation, posthaste.
With some regularity my customers contact me, loving the idea of a ring lined with a bourbon barrel but not seeing their preferred distillery among my options (Jack Daniel's, Jim Beam, Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace, Maker's Mark, and The Macallan [scotch, of course]). Usually the company they seek is very accommodating and they can arrange to have a barrel stave sent to me for use in their wooden wedding ring. Taking inspiration from their initiative, I contacted my favorite bourbon maker, Angel's Envy for a stave. They were extremely accommodating! They sent me THREE staves, which were used to make their bourbon finished in port wine barrels. Just look at that color! I cant wait to use them. I will update this post when I have a completed ring to show (Edit Jan 23 - ring pics posted below!).
These were cut and finished to feature a bit of the port wine stain.
Check here for this listing, or my shop for any custom style using this wood.
Belated Announcement of Cobalt and Wood Rings
Now that I have more than a few rings to show for my efforts, I am announcing that Cobalt is now a metal option for my wood rings. It joins Titanium, Black Zirconium, and Damascus Steel as options for outer liners for wood rings. Cobalt has a few desirable features: it is more scratch resistant than Titanium, its color is permanent and not an oxide layer (like Zr), and it is the color of white gold (though several times stronger). Here are a few of the practically infinite options:
To see the many style and options for wooden wedding bands, take a look at my shop.
Barrel Staves and the MANY Options at Our Disposal
Jan 25, 2015 Edit: Current list of available barrel staves: Jack Daniel's, Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace, Maker's Mark, Angel's Envy, and Old Rip Van Winkle.
My most popular listings incorporate used Jack Daniels barrel staves. In fact, I have many different barrel staves at my disposal. The way this came about is actually pretty interesting - on more than one occasion I have been contacted by a customer who loves the concept of a whiskey barrel stave ring, but is too loyal to another distiller to settle for Jack Daniels. They therefore went ahead and contacted the distiller of their preference to source their own wood. It is not surprising that every distillery is perfectly happy to acquiesce-- by law, bourbon must be aged in NEW oak barrels. They cannot be reused. As a result, I have amassed relatively limited quantities of wood from the following distilleries:
Used Barrel Staves- Various Distilleries
From right to left: Jack Daniels (this is actually only about half of my stock), Jim Beam, Buffalo Trace, Maker's Mark, and RAREST of all a very small amount of wood from The Macallan.
As you can see, they are basically identical. This should come as no surprise, as they are all charred American White Oak (I believe this is also law, to be called bourbon (or in the case of The Macallan, scotch, which by law is aged in USED barrels).
They will all look very similar (the Maker's Mark stave is quite light in color, other than that they are all very similar), but you can specify to me that you would like a certain distillery used in your ring!
Maker's Mark
Jack Daniels Barrel Staves - some of these pieces were originally destined for BBQ smokers
The Macallan Used Barrel Staves
Note on The Macallan wood - I havent yet decided what to do with this. It is very limited in quantity, and I cannot anticipate getting more. I may decide to make it exclusive to Damascus pieces. The wood itself is of obvious superior quality. I dont know if this is because they have the luxury of selecting from the best of the best used barrels or because it has been reused multiple times, but it is very dense and figured (for oak).
UPDATE 12/20/14:
Two new distilleries available!
Woodford Reserve
and Angel's Envy Port Wine Aged
Note on this wood - this bourbon is finished in port wine barrels. It has a gorgeous red stain on the inside that I am dedicated to preserving in the finished ring. For this reason, the wood must be cut in a certain way that limits the size of a ring to size 11, maximum.
EDIT Jan 25, 2015: Old Rip Van Winkle! (and Pappy Van Winkle 20 yr Reserve)
EDIT May 17. 2015: Four Roses and Stranahan's
http://www.wedgewoodrings.com/purchase/cobalt-wooden-ring-lined-with-jack-daniels-whiskey-white-oak-barrel
UPDATE 8/1/2015 - The Yamazaki, The Hakushu, and Hibiki
Very excited to have acquired wood from Suntory whisky, which includes The Yamasaki (a personal favorite), The Hakushu, and Hibiki, which was recently rated #1 whisky in the world. These are used barrel staves that have been converted into floor planks (by Suntory, and sold through their website here: https://ssl1.suntory.co.jp/apl/oss/taru_shop/cat/plist/prms/s_class_id__tars000160)
PLEASE REMEMBER - if you dont see your preferred brand to use in your wooden wedding band, feel free to contact them! They have been universally accommodating to customers' requests.
New Black Zirconium Listings
The response to my new Black Zirconium offerings (and Damascus as well! but I admit to being most enthusiastic about Black Zirconium) has been overwhelming and gratifying. Working with this new material has provided so much inspiration, causing me to rethink design and what woods work best with what metals. Below are some new designs that include Black Zirconium, including on that incorporates Amboyna Burl, one of my favorite materials and one of the rarest, most expensive woods in the world. This is a ring I have been making for years, even back when I made all-wood rings. The original design was Gabon Ebony exterior and Amboyna Burl interior, and I am so pleased that I am able to make this design again.
