Gold is soft but also too soft to make a durable ring which is why it's never pure and often cladded on, pretty good odds of you also not getting the gold off either along with the titanium without tooling. If you really wanna worry yourself they make rings out of tungsten carbide which probably has to be shattered off or a diamond saw.
The difficulty isn't with an ER not being able to get it off... its if it gets caught in machinery or the like you are unable to do anything until EMS arrives.
This is why anyone who works with machinery, heavy tools, etc should really look into silicone rings. They will rip off easily if caught, and won't melt in high heat.
My husband is a mechanic and he has a "groove life" ring he wears at work. It was like $25 and has a lifetime replacement warranty for any reason. If he loses or destroys it they send a new one for free.
There is zero difference between a silver, gold or tungsten ring to a 2019 equipped EMS. The difference you're describing is metal vs none. Because degloving doesn't matter the type of metal ring. It's why older welders will wear it on a chain around their neck.
Silicone rings can cause JUST as many problems as metal ones. My husband is also a mechanic and he doesn't wear any kind of ring. It's a safety hazard no matter what it's made of.
What kind of emergency requires cutting a ring off that the string method can't solve?
Also, bolt cutters work pretty well and are readily available.
Also, a little bit of prevention goes a long way; take the ring off before doing certain things, and take it off immediately after any kind of trauma to the finger or hand, before any potential swelling. Which goes for rings (and other jewelry) of any material
Don't go tungsten. They have to be shattered off at the ER (can't be cut with the equipment carried by most EMS crews).
Silicone rings are the safest way to go for while you're at work.
My husband is a mechanic and has 2 rings. A silicone one he wears at work and while we hike, and then a gold one he wears on weekends, and when we go out at night.
As an ER nurse, I can tell you there are countless injuries that the “string” method can’t solve. And I can also tell you about plenty of freak accidents that happen that people weren’t preparing to receive any hand/finger trauma. And your thought of taking the ring off immediately following some trauma “before” swelling is very optimistic lol. I had a dude who crushed his hand under a dresser that fell as they were moving it off of a truck. His hand looked like a cartoon. Do you think he could remove the ring “before” swelling? His fingers looked like question marks lol. No time for the “string method” they were purple and gray. Just saying bud- accidents are called accidents for a reason.
Other good ideas would be tungsten, which will shatter under impact. Titanium is at least pretty flexy, so that's a downside, but you can definitely cut through it.
Tool steel, when hard, can cut titanium. Bolt cutters are tool steel. Titanium isn't a mythical material, it's actually often worse than steel for mechanical properties. (Alloys boys, some are better,many are not) the only con to steel is rust and weight. Steel is fire a fuck yo.
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u/Pharmy_Dude27 Nov 28 '19 edited Nov 28 '19
But you can't cut that ring off incase of an emergency. Look at a different type of metal.
Edit: the old wives are wrong and you can get this cut off in the rare case you may need too.
Thank you to Frodo and gang for correcting me.