ABOUT

CUSTOMS

TYPES OF MICARTA

#018
White Ivorite Westinghouse Micarta

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Black Canvas Westinghouse Micarta

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Tiger’s Eye Ivorite Westinghouse Micarta

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#015
Carbon Fiber Twist

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Avocado Glass Westinghouse Micarta

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Black Line White Linen Westinghouse Micarta

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Blue Old Railroad G10

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Caramel Ivorite Westinghouse Micarta

#010
Torqbar Dust Kimberlin Pressurite

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Yellow Linen Stretch-mark G10

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Nichols Cheetah Carbon Damascus

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2 Black Lines Tan Ivorite Westinghouse Micarta

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Blue Denim Kimberlin Pressurite

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Butterscotch Linen Westinghouse Micarta

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Emerald Glass Westinghouse Micarta

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Multi-Color Bakelite Rag Micarta

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Red Line White Ivorite Westinghouse Micarta

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Butterscotch Canvas Westinghouse Micarta

CURIOUS MADE

CURIOUS MADE CUSTOM

Currently accepting custom orders.

BEGIN CUSTOM ORDER INQUIRY

ABOUT CURIOUS MADE

Written by Scott McCoskery:

Scott’s original concept sketches.

Hey everyone, I'd like to tell you about a little side collab I have going with my good friend Eric Kimberlin. I've made handful of rings over the years and have come to like to make them a certain way - basically a 2 piece ring composed of a Titanium interior and typically an exotic material on the outside. This design allows the "business" side of the ring -- the part that needs to feel right and fit right (and not turn your finger green) -- is made from a proper hypoallergenic material, my favorite being Titanium. This also gives the ring strength. Then the "presentation" side of the ring can be made from virtually anything that can be machined. I don't claim to invent the two piece ring obviously, but it's what I like and for these particular reasons.

Eric has been making rings in Sterling Silver for the past 8 years. He is also a passionate collector of vintage materials and the stories behind them. In particular, Micarta. Different Vintage Micarta formulas are highly collectible and sought after because they are no longer made, and some are extremely rare.

Circa 1944, a Westinghouse hydraulic hot molding press converting treated sheets of paper into 20 Micarta plates measuring 4’ x 8’.

Micarta was developed in 1910 by George Westinghouse as an industrial thermo-set laminate for electrical insulation. It's generally seen in a few types: rag, fiberglass, paper (Ivorite), linen and canvas. These layers would be soaked in phenolic resin, then baked and pressed into large sheets, tubes or rods of varying thicknesses. Learn more at: www.oldmicarta.com

Eric and I have often brainstormed on how to feature examples of these materials, some of them over 100 years old. We've made resin rings before and were never too happy with their durability. The titanium two piece design solved that problem and we've talked for years about making rings together, and doing a series of serialized rings in various materials of interest. Well finally last week, we carved time out of our busy schedules to make it happen. We couldn't be happier with how these came out. After the machining and fitting the materials together, the rings are finished by hand by Eric and I. The outer material is finely sanded and shaped and then sealed with microcrystalline wax.

All CURIOUS MADE rings are one-of-a-kind and come with a hand-written, serialized Certificate of Authenticity.

Curious Made Rings

Curious Made (COA) Certificate of Authenticity

1960’s Multi-Color Bakelite Rag Micarta over Titanium Ring — 1960’s Multi-Color Bakelite Rag Micarta over Titanium Ring

1960's Westinghouse Butterscotch Canvas Micarta and Titanium Ring

Torqbar Dust Kimberlin Pressurite over Titanium Ring

TYPES OF WESTINGHOUSE MICARTA

RAG MICARTA — Very old, rare and desirable, outcomes with Rag Micarta are always beautifully random and one-of-a-kind. No two pieces ever end up quite the same. Dating back as far as the 1940’s and manufactured using chopped up pieces of fabric soaked in special resins which were thermoset in compression molds. *Some Rag Micarta recipes were made using ultra-rare Bakelite resins.

GLASS MICARTA — Originally developed for industrial uses and applications, Fiberglass Micarta was created to last and known for its excellent fire ratings, machinability and incredible toughness. Smaller (G11) or bigger (G10) woven layers result in gorgeous translucent or opaque gem-like finishes.

PAPER MICARTA — Layers of paper which were bleached or unbleached. Created in various colors, forms, compositions and thicknesses of thermoset using a variety of resins such as: phenolic, special phenolic, epoxies and special run epoxies. “Ivorite” was a trade-name for a rare class of Paper Micarta, used mainly for decorative purposes.

LINEN MICARTA — Finely woven sheets of linen were soaked in phenolic resins, stacked, compressed and cured in gigantic thermosetting hydraulic presses. This created a dense, tight and durable material known as Linen Micarta.

CANVAS MICARTA — Coarse threads and loose weaves bind strong layers of canvas together in a composite material that has excellent grip properties and is known as Canvas Micarta.

Curious Made Rings