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Hand-crafted Steel Roses

March 5, 2009 by JD
Filed under: Arts and Crafts 

I love blacksmithing. There is something almost magical about heating iron to a nice red heat and then reshaping it with precise hammer blows.

One of the things I like to make are hand-crafted steel roses.

However, for a couple of reasons I won’t go into here, I’m not able to do it right now.

Since I still get requests for steel roses now and then, I’m always happy to meet someone who creates them.

Today, I received a nice email from Travis Rankin, and he introduced me to his hand-crafted steel roses.

You can learn more about Travis and his steel roses at Wroughtenart.com.

In a couple of ways, I like his roses better than mine, especially the way he makes the leaves.

This isn’t a personal endorsement, because I don’t really know Travis, but if you’re looking for steel roses for a special person, you may want to contact him.

Act on your dream!

JD

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4 Comments on Hand-crafted Steel Roses

  1. Jeannie-aka-Tiddledeewinks on Sat, 7th Mar 2009 7:57 pm

    2. I love hand made items. I like to sew soft things myself.

    Jeannie-aka-Tiddledeewinks’s last blog post..Hi-Jeannie (Tiddledeewinks) Here!

  2. JD on Thu, 12th Mar 2009 5:08 am

    3. Good morning, Jeannie.

    I love hand made things, too.

    I even knit with steel – when I make chainmaille.

    I also enjoy embroidery, but haven’t done much with it for a few years.

    Thanks for your comment and welcome to our discussions.

    Act on your dream!

    JD

  3. Love online on Sun, 1st Nov 2009 7:45 pm

    4. So many couples have momento boxes containing items from when they first started courting. A steel rose seems like such a great item to give. It will look as good in 10 years as it does today unlike an organic rose which will dry out and look nowhere near as good after a very short period of time.

  4. JD on Tue, 3rd Nov 2009 11:59 am

    5. Good afternoon, L.O.,

    Welcome to our discussions and thanks for your comment.

    One of the things I really miss doing is creating The Rose That Never Wilts.

    I love all sorts of blacksmithing, but making handcrafted steel roses remains my favorite.

    I’m still not able to do it, because of an injury to my left hand. Even a few months ago, I had hardly any strength in that hand, but it is slowly improving. My left middle finger, which was totally numb a few months ago, now has feeling and I think that is a good sign.

    I’m hoping I can give smithing another try next spring.

    These steel roses aren’t just for couples, either.

    The last rose I smithed was for my Mom when I learned she had cancer. I had to take her to the emergency room on Halloween, 2001 and she was diagnosed with cancer on her birthday, November 6, 2001. It’s hard to believe that was 8 years ago.

    That rose was with her when she went to the hospital for surgery in 2002 and then in her room when she was in rehab for over six weeks. Later, it came home with her and sat on top of her TV.

    When she broke her leg, both times, it returned to the hospital with her and came back home.

    Last year, it went with her to the nursing home and stayed with her the last few months of her life. Now, it sits on top of the TV, again.

    That would have been impossible with a real rose.

    I’m hoping that it reminded her that she was loved whenever she looked at it and now it reminds me of someone special whenever I see it.

    Maybe one day I’ll be able to make more of them.

    All the best,

    JD

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