Bracelets

Humans started wearing bracelets about 40,000 years ago, and when our ancestors started working with metal they continued the tradition in this new exciting material. Bracelets were worn as status symbols. They were worn for spiritual protection, as amulets, as portable currency (some places in the world still do this), and yes some were worn into battle.  

We continue in this enduring human compulsing of arming our arms, but this bracelet made from unwanted gun parts, usually the rib off a shotgun or a trigger guard, is a RAW tool. It flips the violence paradigm; it’s not for WAR but as an amulet for peace. This is a different kind of status symbol that signals you serve God not Mammon. It’s a reminder that we are a warriors for peace, which means we are willing to be killed but not to kill. We are working with a different kind of currency that has the power to transform death into life. 

Speaking of which, are you a card carrying member of the National Peacemaking Association (NPA)?  If not, take a minute to check it out; you can read and sign the NPA pledge to become a member. It’s true there is nothing totally new under the Sun. It’s also true that once again I kind of ripped this off of Matt Clarady. He started making these years ago. Do y’all know Matt? He is a long time RAWtools volunteer Blacksmith in the Nashville area. Sometimes he sends his work up to the Philly Shop, so maybe you even have some of his work and didn’t know it. As you might remember the Revolutionary Flower is another thing we “barrowed” from his creativity vault. Thanks for all you do and dream up Matt!

Now onto more mundane matters; I resisted making bracelets for a long time. Why? Good question. I think because wrists are so dang variable, and steel is hard. It’s tricky to get just the right fit where it will slip over the wrist twist and fit on comfortably. We make these in several different sizes and we can make slight adjustments on them when they are cold. But it is hard to get a good fit. If you catch us live and in person I’m happy to make adjustments to find the right one and make that perfect fit with small cold tweeks. It’s kind of risky getting one of these by mail but we can always exchange them with that pesky shipping cost. If you have a better design for a bracelet, reach out and let us know. We are always up for new designs and custom orders. That said it can take us time to work through our project list.