What are “bentwood” rings? What makes them special?
The average wooden ring is cut out from either a solid piece of wood, or a laminated “wood sandwich” whereby wood layers are glued together. These types of rings are typically cut out on a lathe or drill press. They can be churned out quickly and sold at low prices.
Solid-cut rings are the most fragile, as the ring will contain “short grain” and thus be more likely to split at this point. (The exception here is with very dense wood species like Lignum Vitae.)
Laminate-cut rings are composed of multiple layers of wood glued with opposing grain. Although more durable than solid-cut rings they still have a couple of drawbacks:
Aesthetics: In both solid-cut and laminate-cut rings, half of the ring will contain end grain. In general, end grain is the least interesting or attractive part of the wood in most species.
Waste: In both solid-cut and laminate-cut rings, MOST of the wood from the block or laminate becomes waste, as it has to be removed to reveal the ring.
Bentwood construction addresses these issues.
In a bentwood ring, there are no points of short grain. The wood grain is oriented around the circumference of the ring, providing outstanding structural integrity, as well as a beautiful display of the wood grain .
Since the bentwood ring originates from thin strips that are cut to width and bent into a circle, the only waste comes in the form of fine dust when the ring is sanded smooth. Very little wood is wasted.
Bentwood rings demand more time in their making than do standard wooden rings. The process is very much a hands-on and meticulous one, and this is reflected in their price.
To learn more about the durability testing performed on our wooden rings, click here.
