This may mean squat to you. Then again it may save a finger, a hand or a life.
I’m talking about medical grade, silicone band wedding rings from Qalo. These rings, unlike gold, platinum and other metals are non-conducting and if pulled hard enough will tear apart.
That’s a big deal for construction workers, electricians, mechanics and pretty much everybody in the trades.
One day when I was first married I was testing the action of a heavy sliding door that I’d just installed when a small lip on the edge of the door caught on my wedding band. It yanked my hand pretty good and pulled me off my feet, but I managed to lunge forward enough to avoid serious damage. Otherwise a dislocated finger, maybe worse, would have resulted.
People who have never had something like this happen don’t understand how little metal-to-metal contact it takes. If as much as 1/16th of an inch of metal is touching that is enough to hang your whole body weight on. The metal’s not going to give, but you will.
After about a year of daily construction my gold band looked like crap, scratched and gouged by a thousand small encounters. I finally had to have it cut off by a doctor when I got into some poison ivy and my hand swelled up to the point where I couldn’t get it off my finger.
My wife upgraded me to a band with a higher nickel content, which makes the normally soft gold a little more wear resistant. But that only increased the other problem with metal wedding bands–the fact that they can scratch finish materials-especially paint, polyurethane, glass and polished surfaces. The electrical hazards of a metal wedding band should be obvious from the article here in Road and Track.
Some people remove their wedding band every time they go to work, but do that five times a week, 50 weeks a year and you’re almost guaranteed to lose it. Not good for marital relations or the pocketbook. Qalo’s silicone bands are only $20. The small, crossed-hammers logo is a nice touch for tradesmen. The best thing is they add to your personal safety.
Editor’s note: Tom Jackson is the Executive Editor for sister magazine Equipment World
