Hey, ever wondered how your Knot Theory silicone rings are made?
Some people think we just throw some silicone in a mold, and out pops a fancy rubber band.
....aand it's never that simple.
Especially when you keep trying to do something no one has done before.
That’s why I’m kicking off this mini series: to share the untold stories behind your Knot Theory rings. If you’re curious, follow along - I promise it'll be worth it!
Story time: How the heck do you make a metallic silicone ring - with zero metal?
When I first started Knot Theory, I was set on using the safest silicone. Silicone itself is non-toxic, but there can be toxic additives. I approached silicone spatula makers, because they use food-grade silicone.
Once we nailed this mission and created safe, hypoallergenic, and high performance silicone rings, I started to think about the next generation of silicone rings.
"Can we make them metallic?" I asked our manufacturer.
"Hmmm...we've never made food-grade metallic silicone products...", they said.
The Automotive Spray Paint Experiment
We started with a method borrowed from the automotive world:
Prep. Prime coat. Top coat. Clear coat.
Each ring went through this 4-step process. The result? Stunning.
But there was a catch: even with a super-durable coating, silicone is soft. Over time, the surface wore down - and with it, the metallic shine.
That’s when we knew: coating wasn’t the answer. We needed the metallic look to go all the way through.
The Through-and-Through Breakthrough
We started experimenting with pigments - dozens and dozens of them.
Here's what made it tricky:
During molding, the silicone turns into a thick, hot fluid. Some pigments would float to the top, others sank, and a few made wild, unintended stripes.
We adjusted pigment types, temperatures, timing of the temperatures - often spending full days running tests, collecting failures, tweaking formulas.
9 out of 10 tries would fail miserably, but that 1 semi-successful result? It would spark a new direction.
Eventually, we cracked the code! Today, Knot Theory is the leader in true metallic-look silicone rings that are metal-free, hypoallergenic, and beautiful through-and-through.
