Wedding Ring

[Ron Solfest]

I've been fortunate to wear a gold wedding ring for nearly 36 years. I do everything with it, and once in a while stop and question if I should remove it for safety when working with my hands but never really have and I've never had a resulting problem. With that said, I know it's recommended to remove rings sometimes. A few weeks ago I saw an RV video where someone's ring got caught and made a clean bread of the finger...after surgery and lots of pain it's expected he'll heal. It seems I see something similar every year or so, and think about it while turning about as often.

Long story short, I spent $15 on Amazon and they sent me a pack of 7 silicone rings. They don't look as nice as my gold wedding band but after a couple weeks wearing it I think my gold band will stay in my wife's jewelry box and I'll just wear a rubber band on my finger from here out. Doesn't look too bad, and it's one less opportunity to hurt myself as I get older (kind of like getting my SawStop, or wearing a bike helmet).

 

[Nathan Roper]

I bought one of those silicon rings and can't stand it. I wish my wedding ring still fit but it's about a half size too small. It's also tungsten so it's not like it can be resized.

 

[Dean Center]

It takes a lot of force directed in exactly the right direction to deglove a finger. The RV people are conscious of it because there have been at least a couple of cases where someone opened the door to their RV with their left hand and jumped down to the ground, leaving the finger skin and the ring hanging from some protruding part of the door. During normal life for most of us, the exactly right circumstances are unlikely to occur. As I understand it, the silicon ring is intended for the active parts of our life, and you're expected to put on the real deal for date night, church, family gatherings, and so on, unless you're a Holy Roller or your family gathers for sky diving.

And Nathan, I hate tungsten rings. There's just no way to get them off when somebody injures their finger and the ring is acting like a tourniquet and threatening the viability of the finger. Gold can be cut off with a Harbor Freight quality, simple device in about 2 minutes.

 

[hockenbery]

takes a lot of force directed in exactly the right direction to deglove a finger.

I was wearing my few days old high school ring while playing touch football in physEd.
The ring caught in the grass and peeled the palm side skin off the first part of my finger.
Just a giant ouch. Never wore a ring again for any sports or around machinery.

Worked a couple summers in aluminum factories - no jewelry allowed on the floor.

 

[Nathan Roper]

When I was married I was working manual labor and then did law enforcement for a spell. The idea that tungsten wouldn't pick up the dings and dents or whatever else would damage it was intriguing despite all the warnings that people gave.

The ring looks the same as it did on my wedding day in 2007. I really wish it still fit.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

's just no way to get them off when somebody injures their finger and the ring is acting like a tourniquet and threatening the viability of the finger. Gold can be cut off with a Harbor Freight quality, simple device in about 2 minutes.

Not quite so

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJHUAwEx1bY

 

[Dean Center]

Not quite so

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJHUAwEx1bY

Been there, done that, many times. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. If memory serves, the hardest part is getting the ribbon/string/dental floss underneath the ring when the finger is swollen or chewed up. No problem on a normal finger. We used 'dental tape' which is like wide, unwaxed dental floss.

If you're going to try this some day:
A. Use twice as long a material as you think you'll need
B. Hold the finger up overhead for 5 minutes, then slowly wrap the ribbon/string/floss from near tip back towards the palm, with laps right next to each other (unlike in Gerald's video image) to 'squeeze' the finger smaller, prior to tucking.
C. A little lubricant under the ring helps, but try not to get in on the ribbon/string/floss

 

[Brian Gustin]

What Dean said. I can just imagine trying to do that to a broken finger all swelled up. Patient would likely pass out from pain if not having to be knocked out for the procedure..

I quit wearing wedding ring after I got a very nasty burn from holding a wrench while tightening a + battery terminal on a car battery and the ring touched grounded metal... and that was some time after having it nearly pinch a finger off when I was holding a wrench in one hand and impact wrench in other to loosen a rusted bolt - impact wrench jammed the box wrench hand between car frame and wrench, smashing the ring oval. I had to get it back to some semblance of round with a pair of pliers to get it off... But after that nasty burn I decided no more jewelry, period. To this day I don't even wear a watch, much less any rings, necklaces, bracelets, etc. (No reason for a ring anyway now, got divorced way back in 2000)

 

[Mark Jundanian]

My wedding ring lives on my key ring.

 

[Doug Freeman]

I only wear any ring when “going out”, ie kinda dress up. In younger days I caught rings palm side and a few things, and luckily only got minor scrape injuries. Decided early on any ring, even a wedding ring, is for show not go. I “go”, work on many things with my hands, constantly. Its unsafe to work on things with rings on.

 

[Michael Anderson]

Chiming in here. I haven’t worn my wedding ring for a while. When I did a lot of rock climbing, I would take it off frequently. And I climbed A LOT, so it was off more than on. I usually kept it in my wallet, but would put it on occasionally. One day I had it on while mowing the lawn. It fell off bc I was sweating and moving my hands, and I heard a clanging. Rand over it with the mower! Miraculously i was able to find the pieces (only three pieces) and it’s now sitting in a box. One day I will have it repaired and will likely wear it in a necklace. But, I never really cared for wearing it on my fingers.

That said, I did have a silicon ring for a while. I got used to it, but it eventually wore out and never replaced it.

 

[Jeff Hamby]

I have been married for almost 40 years and never took off my band until a couple of years ago I hung it working in the shop. Luckly no major damage...
I bought some silicon rings and have been wearing them ever since. Not crazy about them but I would rather keep my digits.

 

[Dean Center]

Chiming in here. I haven’t worn my wedding ring for a while. When I did a lot of rock climbing, I would take it off frequently. And I climbed A LOT, so it was off more than on. I usually kept it in my wallet, but would put it on occasionally. One day I had it on while mowing the lawn. It fell off bc I was sweating and moving my hands, and I heard a clanging. Rand over it with the mower! Miraculously i was able to find the pieces (only three pieces) and it’s now sitting in a box. One day I will have it repaired and will likely wear it in a necklace. But, I never really cared for wearing it on my fingers.

That said, I did have a silicon ring for a while. I got used to it, but it eventually wore out and never replaced it.

Careful, Michael, you may be on thin ice. You should set your observational radar on "high alert" to make sure that the key person in your life is OK with this development.

 

[Michael Anderson]

Good looking out Dean. If you ask my wife about the wedding ring situation, she would say that it’s very much in character for me. That was a couple of years ago. She gets my reasoning for going the necklace route—just have to (eventually) have it pieced back together.

 

[Karl Loeblein]

If you insist on wearing a wedding ring while working with your hands then turn a wooden only ring that can be easily broken off if caught or finger is swollen.