I think we can all agree that Mufasa pretty much covered the circle of life, for lions and hyenas everywhere. If you happen to be a goldsmith, the circle of life is a little different. Luckily, I am here to impart some wisdom.
Here is me imparting wisdom:
The circle of life, for the sterling silver in my toolbox, begins as trial and error in wax carving. Here are some early attempts at carving balls:
Once I have a satisfactory wax carving, I use sterling silver casting grain to cast the ball into metal.
Surprisingly enough, I am not perfect, and when trying something completely new it can take a few attempts before I am happy with the results. Here is my ball graveyard, where bad balls go to die:
Thankfully, the trial and error period does not last forever. Below, success!
All the old sterling silver gets recycled, because recycling is part of the process. In this case, I raided the ol’ ball graveyard. The bad balls visited the chop shop (er, metal shears), and now have a brand new purpose in life as casting grain.
In fact I am casting tonight, and this casting grain will actually become two sets of weddings bands and a pair of earrings.
And that, my friends, is the sterling silver circle of life, goldsmith edition. Hakuna Matata!