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JD's Steel Roses That Never Wilt
I'd like to thank Kathleen Anderson for spending an afternoon helping to document how I make a steel rose. It was a hot, humid Southern summer afternoon in August, 1999, and she was using a camera that she'd never used before (mine), and it just wouldn't focus on the close-up shots. So, some of the pics are a little out of focus, but the background looks great! I think you'll still be able to get an idea of some of the steps in this process. I'd also like to thank Keith Fremlin for his help and encouragement in getting my first rose made. Keith has a great tutorial on making forged roses at his site. Background InformationIn the spring of 1999, I was wandering around in the garden and got an idea to do something different for Father's Day. I decided to make a steel rose for my daughter, Dena, to thank her for making me a father. I looked all around for examples of roses, pictures, and patterns. After looking over Keith Fremlin's website, I was ready to try it for myself. But, being the type of person I am, I didn't just jump into it. I checked out several books from the local library on how to make artificial flowers in paper and silk and adapted some of the patterns I found there -- allowing for the use of steel rather than the lighter materials they were using. I was fortunate that the first rose I made came out well. Dena loved it! After that, I made one and gave it to Kathleen and several others in the area. I donated a couple of them to the Blacksmiths' Auction at the John C. Campbell Folk School in July, 1999 and they were received well. The real breakthrough came in November, 1999, when I offered to make some steel roses for House Ironrose: Warrior Women of the SCA, a group of women (and men who support their efforts) who fight full-contact in armor as part of their activities in The Society for Creative Anachronism. Several of the women on the list purchased roses from me, and I was gratified by their appreciation of my efforts. For that reason, House Ironrose will hold a special place in my heart, and I will be happy to make anyone in that group a rose whenever they want one. And I'll always give a discount to this group of people whom I now consider friends, even though I've never met one of them in person. I like to make these steel roses out of old car body panels. It feels like I'm doing my little part in recycling old metal parts into a new product. So, the first part of the process is to cut the panel into smaller, easier-to-handle metal sheets. Then, I wire-brush and/or grind the paint and undercoating off, leaving nice, clean metal to work with. Of course, I only do this just before I need to use that piece of metal. Otherwise, with all the humidity here, I'd have a nice rust collection. The next step is to trace the patterns from the cardboard templates and then cut the parts out of the sheet metal with aircraft metal snips. Once cut, the center hole must be drilled, and then the petals cut down to about a quarter inch from this center hole. I could skip some of the processes such as texturing all the leaves, petals, and calyx with a hammer (which takes several hours to do it right), but I don't think the quality would be as high as I'd like. By peening the petals, they have a fuller thickness in the center and taper to thinner edges which makes them bend more realistically when I shape them later in the process. So, I texture them anyway. It takes most of a day to make one of the small roses, and up to three days to make one of the large ones. It can take nearly 8,000 hammer blows to texture the petals for one large rose -- and, yes, I did count it one time! I think it's worth the extra effort to produce a superior representation of one of nature's most treasured beauties, and to produce another hand-forged, one-of-a-kind, signed and numbered representation of "The Rose that Never Wilts."TM
(My brother, David Dilbeck, visited over Thanksgiving, 1999, and I was able to drag him away from the turkey long enough to get some photos made of three sample roses. He has a nice digital camera and took several photos that I like very much! Thanks, David.) Currently, I have three sizes of roses that I like. Being a very creative kind of guy, I've decided to call these the (get ready for it, here it comes) large, medium, and small roses. Each of these is a custom, hand-forged, original, one-of-a-kind steel rose. No two of them will be identical, but they should be fairly similar within each type. Note (in the picture below) the color differences between the large rose (which has been waxed) and both the medium and small roses (which have not). This is because I had to take advantage of getting some good photos when I could, and I didn't have time to wax all of them. Size comparison
The roses differ in length, number of leaves, and both the size and complexity of the petals comprising the blossoms. The medium rose in the center has an unusually long stem, and would normally be in between the others in length. New finishes available!
I've had a number of people asking about finishes other than the waxed finish I've been offering for the last couple of years. I've been concerned about rust prevention with painted roses, but I've finally worked out a way to paint these roses that I think will protect them from rusting, and they look great. To start with, I'm offering them painted gold or silver in addition to the waxed finish. There's a fair amount of extra work and time involved in painting them versus waxing them, but I think it's a nice addition and I like the look. I'll be considering adding other colors, depending upon what you may want. I think these would make excellent silver anniversary and golden anniversary presents. A few children and grandchildren could go together and give a very unusual gift to the lucky celebrants. All size roses are available with the new gold or silver finishes. I'm going to continue offering the gold and silver finishes in 2002. So far, they have not proved to be nearly as popular as the traditional waxed finish. They may not be available in gold or silver finishes in 2003. If you definitely want one of these, you may want to seriously consider purchasing one this year. Still not taking orders for steel rosesIt's July, 2005, and Mom's condition has not improved to the point where I can get back to forging steel roses that never wilt. In the meantime, I'd like to recommend the following metal artists who may be able to help you. Keith Fremlin offers forged steel roses and other high-quality items. Danny Caruso is a steel sculptor and also makes steel roses. They can be viewed at StirYourImagination.com under the flowers category. Large rose
The large rose is the most complex version, and takes much longer to make than the others. The stem is a quarter-inch steel rod with a length of about twelve inches. The leaf is composed of three leaflets brazed to fourteen-gauge wire. The blossom is made of twenty-five petals and is approximately six inches in diameter. Price: $500.00 Things are not working out as I expected. Due to family health reasons, until further notice I will not be taking any commission orders for steel roses. I don't know how long this will be in effect. When I have time, I'll make a rose and auction it on eBay. Thank you for your interest, and I'm sorry I can't help you now. I'm looking for folks to refer you to in the meantime. As soon as I get the information, I'll update this page. Large roses are not available by the dozen. Medium rose
The medium rose is less complex than the large. The stem is a quarter-inch steel rod with a length of about nine inches. The leaf is composed of one leaflet brazed to seventeen-gauge wire. The blossom is made of fifteen petals and is approximately four to four-and-a-quarter inches in diameter. Price: $200.00 Things are not working out as I expected. Due to family health reasons, until further notice I will not be taking any commission orders for steel roses. I don't know how long this will be in effect. When I have time, I'll make a rose and auction it on eBay. Thank you for your interest, and I'm sorry I can't help you now. I'm looking for folks to refer you to in the meantime. As soon as I get the information, I'll update this page. Medium roses are also available by the dozen at a price of $2,000. Contact me directly at jd@johndilbeck.com for more information. Small rose
The small rose is the least complex version. The stem is a three-sixteenths-inch steel rod with a length of about six inches. There are no leaflets on the small rose. The blossom is made of fifteen petals and ranges between three-and-a-half and four inches in diameter. Price $100.00 Things are not working out as I expected. Due to family health reasons, until further notice I will not be taking any commission orders for steel roses. I don't know how long this will be in effect. When I have time, I'll make a rose and auction it on eBay. Thank you for your interest, and I'm sorry I can't help you now. I'm looking for folks to refer you to in the meantime. As soon as I get the information, I'll update this page. Small roses are also available by the dozen at a price of $1,000. Contact me directly at jd@johndilbeck.com for more information. CustomizingEach rose is individually serial numbered and signed by me. On the other side of the signing area, I usually write "The Rose that Never Wilts." If desired, I could add a custom inscription to this side or leave it blank. Let me know what you want here and I'll do my best to accomodate you. Remember, the area for the inscription is rather small, so please make the inscription concise. There is space for up to three lines of about 15 characters per line. Thank you
Thanks for taking the time to look at my roses. I love making these for special people, and I'm hoping that you'll like what you see, too. Maybe you'll like it enough to feel the irrestible urge to email me and place an order. To place an order, click on the Ordering page. To learn more about how I make a steel rose, it all starts with Making The Stem. I'm really happy you stopped by and took a look. Feel free to continue browsing and come back any time. More Information...You're invited to visit my Directory for information, suppliers, and sources for arts and crafts, armouring, SCA-related links, blacksmithing, and more.
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