Steve West 6/8/14 Steve West 6/8/14

A Visit To Magnus Walker's Garage in LA

While I was in LA, my friend who knows Magnus reached out to him about a visit. I made a ring for Magnus last year that was inspired by the speed holes he puts on his door handles. Jarod texted me his number and said we were welcome to come by on Memorial Day.

He's such a great host and all around nice guy. He showed us all around the shop, the upstairs area then let us wander through the garage and check out his Porsche collection. I told him I'd never ridden in a 911 and he told me he could take care of that. He pulled out his 277 car and took me for a few full open runs over the 6th St bridge in downtown LA and around the neighborhood. Couldn't have asked for a more incredible visit.

Steve West 5/2/14 Steve West 5/2/14

The Bike Shed & Moto Lady

Silver Piston was just featured on The Bike Shed in their gear section. The write up was fantastic and couldn't be happier. Today, Alicia over at The Moto Lady site revealed the designs for a couple of rings that are being offered through her site from Silver Piston. Pretty solid partnership.

Big things are happening.

Steve West 4/24/14 Steve West 4/24/14

Hobo Ring How It's Made

1 The fresh carved nickel

I get my nickels engraved by Shane Hunter in Toledo, OH. I call him and tell him what I'm thinking about and then send him a sketch. In turn he sends me the nickel engraved like this. I then cut it out using a #2 jewelers saw blade which is .5mm x .24mm and cut it out.

2 Cut out

After a little deft action with the saw, it's cut out.

3 Bend the nickel

After the ring's been made and sized, the next step is to round the coin so it rests onto the ring. Doing it this way assures that the inside if the ring is round. Not doing it this way puts dents inside the ring if you solder it on flat then round the ring.

4 Solder it on the ring

I hold everything in place with some clamps so nothing moves about.

5 Soldered

This is what it looks like after it's soldered onto the ring.

6 Clean Up

After it's been soldered on, I get it cleaned up on the outside and inside. Also, I make sure all the solder has been cleaned up and smooth it all out.

7 Oxidation

After it's cleaned up, it's oxidized it in a solution of liver of sulphur. I do my oxidizing really hot because I'm just going for black. After this step, finer clean up is done.

8 All done

The finished product, a Silver Piston hobo nickel ring and this is the cafe racer version.

I've been asked how the Hobo Ring's made and if that is a real nickel I use on them. So here you go, here's how they're made. But why show all this? There's no secret, an experienced jeweler could figure it all out. What you don't see is years of just making stuff and learning. There are literally hundreds of hours playing and working out ideas, always learning. There's also hundreds of dollars of material quite literally melted as I learned. So when you get something from me, you're getting something I've learned how to make by trial and error. You're also getting a handmade ring by me right here in downtown Atlanta. Everything I do is with raw materials, nothing is pre-made, well except the nickel but give me a fucking break.

Steve West 4/6/14 Steve West 4/6/14

Custom Wedding Bands

These are a set of wedding bands that were custom made for an Atlanta couple. They wanted stones but flush mounted and the bands to match with a brushed finish. In total, one Diamond and eight sapphires. The one with the diamonds is the bride's ring.

Steve West 3/2/14 Steve West 3/2/14

A visit to Ronnie's workshop

After the Makers Summit, I went up to Asheville to spend the night with my cousin, Jenny and her husband, Charlie. After lunch we drove about half an hour or so west out of Asheville to visit her uncle, Ronnie.

Ronnie's been making flint firing, long rifles and knives for over 40 years. We spent the afternoon just looking at all the stuff he has. So many tools he's acquired over the years. All kinds of materials. And loads more tools. Here are some pictures.