A few months ago we had a discussion on Orchid about removing
titanium rings in an emergency situation. Apparently many jewelers
and firemen (and other emergency personnel) are not well informed on
this subject.
Obviously I have a vested interest in not disfiguring any of my
clients. I use one of the common alloys of titanium, the 6-4 alloy
or Grade-5, as well as the commercially pure (and much softer)
grade-2 titanium for my ring designs. I finally got fed-up with all
of the misand rumor science surrounding this issue.
I purchased a simple ring removal tool from Rio Grande. it is a
plier type device with a t-handle that turns a thin circular saw
blade for cutting off a stuck ring. With the normal high-speed steel
blade that comes on the instrument I was able to saw through a 2+mm
thick grade-5 titanium ring in less than 20 seconds. It does require
cutting the ring at opposite sides so the cutting time is doubled to
40 seconds.
The blade was not ruined and I estimate I could make 20+ cuts (10
ring removals) before another $12 blade would be required. I hope
that this experiment sheds some light on this subject and puts things
in the proper perspective.
Of course the ring is ruined, but that is not the point.
Any questions? Just ask.
Daniel J. Statman, Statman Designs
www.statmandesigns.com
@Dan_statman