 You need to start out with a bunch of unsuspecting flatware. Little do they know that their days are numbered. Soon, they will be upcycled into the rarified world of luxurious jewelry.... You can use solid sterling silver or silver plate, but not stainless steel flatware.
 Next, you cut the handle off of the spoon or fork. We are making the ring out of the handle. Here, I am using the beloved bench shear at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center, but you can also use bolt cutters or a saw...
 More spoons ready to get chopped. That shear cuts them like butter!
 Sometimes, when the spoon pattern design is right, I use a jeweler's saw to carefully pierce the outline of the design. It adds a nice touch to the finished ring. Then, the end must be smoothed and polished with files, sandpaper, and buffing compound in that order.
 The next step is to begin bending the spoon handle into a ring. I am doing a spiral wrap ring style here. I am using a solid steel ring mandrel and a swage block carved out of a large hardwood stump. I use a rawhide mallet to hammer down onto the ring mandrel and push the spoon handle down into the swage depression. The handle is turning into a ring...
 You can see that the the spoon handle now looks like a ring. I continue to hammer it and wrap it around the mandrel. I refine the shape so that it is pretty and comfortable to wear. This ring sold on my etsy store www.silverflame.etsy.com pretty quickly...
 This is the completed ring. I like to leave the original patina on the spoon, so I only use a silver polishing cloth to clean it. I can size it for my customers by the same process I used to make the ring...hammering it around the trusty ring mandrel. Making the ring is simple, but requires a bit of strength, especially for nickel silverplate. Ready to begin? E-mail me your results!
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