You guys rock! I have printed this thread out and given it to my friend to show her it’s not all doom and gloom if he doesn’t.
Although I’m female I’ll field the last one. I’m single, never married, and have a wedding ring. I never wear it.
It was my grandfathers and is big enough for me to slip two fingers into it.
Goes to show, that on the Dope, it’s tough to come up will all the possible buckets one of us might fit into.
If I ever get married I won’t wear the ring – because, owing to a childhood accident that left both my hands covered with burn scars and skin grafts, I can’t wear rings at all, for more than a few hours at a stretch; they irritate my skin and I’m incapable of growing callusses on the relevant spots.
I’ll just need to find a bride who understands that.
I’ve never worn jewelry. I’d been given a couple of rings over the years, and a necklace of heavy 24k gold that my mother bought for me, but I didn’t really like the feeling of wearing any of this stuff, so I never did. That changed when I got married.
My wife wanted me to wear a ring, so we went ring shopping. I eventually found a custom shop that had some very cool designs. I ended up getting a modification of a design they had on display. They charged just a bit more than the materials. I’m pretty darn happy with it, though I’m still (six months later) not all that used to having it on.
I wear it most of the time, but often take it off when I’m working with tools, doing martial arts practice, or cooking and cleaning. In other words, I take it off for safety reasons, for cleanliness reasons, or to prevent damage to the ring. If I had a job where it was dangerous, I would not wear it at work, but would wear it any time I wasn’t working. The problem with rings is not that you would avoid injury without the ring, but that the ring can make a minor injury into an appendage loss.
Used to, don’t anymore. A wedding ring symbolizes something to me which simply doesn’t apply anymore. I think it bugs the missus that I don’t wear it, but I really don’t care.
I thought of this thread this morning. As I mentioned above, Suavecaveman almost never wears his ring to work and I usually don’t care one way or the other.
Suavecaveman and I had been fighting last night and it spilled over to today. We made peace while we were in the bathroom getting ready but it was pretty fragile, and both of us were tired and wary.
After he finished up in the bathroom and was about to leave for work he paused, came back and picked up his ring. It was a small gesture, but it let me know that we were still OK.
My husband doesn’t wear his ring regularly. He started taking it off when he was doing a lot of woodworking, and now it’s become the norm for him not to wear it. He’s not used to the way it feels anymore. I suppose he could get used to it with effort, but it’s not a big issue for me. He puts it on for ‘special occasions’ sometimes.
Doesn’t bother me that he isn’t wearing it 24/7. I know he’s married, and he knows he’s married, and that’s generally enough.
Husband of 16 years.
I was up front w/ my now wife about not wanting to wear it. It’s an arbitrary symbol. Rings drive me nuts. I would lose it. It would cause me injury. (I had a babysitter tell me, what was in hindsight an inappropriately gruesome story for a 7-year old, about a man who’s ring got caught in the rope while water skiing. I think it messed me up a little)
I wouldn’t have bought one at all except my wife wanted to wear one and the cremony would have been odd with just one ring.
I’ve never been unfaithful and sort of resent it when people jump to the conclusion that I’m some sort of sneaky, adulterous character just because I don’t wear it.
When I promised I would stay with, and faithful to, my wife until I died, that was a huge and complex promise, but it did not include wearing a ring for the rest of my life.
Wife, of course, doesn’t mind at all.
Married four and a half years. I think the only time I’ve ever seen my husband’s ring off of his finger, it was up his nostril. Thanks for that thread, Opal. 
I take off my rings when I’m cooking something messy with my hands right in it (kneading dough, mixing meatloaf, etc) or putting on lotion. When my fingers got too fat for them during pregnancy, we bought a replacement ring.
Gracious! I hesitate to ask, but do you keep - anything - in the compartment?
I can think of two things now almost to the exclusion of anything else -
“The secret compartment of my ring I fill
With an Underdog Super Energy Pill.”
Or
“Never match wits with a Sicilian when there is death on the line!”
Regards,
Shodan
That’s the point, Shodan. It’s a poison ring.
And it’s a scary point - this is a wedding ring thread.
I don’t like to think about the symbolism.
Regards,
Shodan
Although I’m divorced, I always wore my ring except when working on a hot service panel.
Should I ever remarry, I’ll happily display that symbol of commitment.
Not married, but I would wear a plain wedding band. I once had a white gold ring with a stone of black onyx, but when I played the piano the stone would always twist round and hang upside-down and smack against the keys. A plain band wouldn’t.
My answer is: depends on the ring.
When we got married, I didn’t have time, energy, or money to buy a proper wedding band for myself, so we used a black Hematite ring purchased that morning for $3 in the French Market. (My wife had found her ring a few months earlier on eBay for $40 or so.)
I wore it for a while, but rings just bug the hell out of me unless they fit just exactly right. The plan was that I’d get a nice one later, but it’s been four years and change and I haven’t. I still may eventually.
My wife doesn’t care; she knows it has nothing to do with the way I feel about her. Anyone else who thinks my not wearing one means my dedication to her is any less is just an idiot.
My hubby wears his all the time, unless he’s working on something messy or dirty (laying floors, painting). His is heavy (and has diamonds- a bit unusual for guys perhaps), so if he worked with machinery I’m sure it would take his finger right off!
I only take mine off when I’m in the shower (soap film dulls the shine). I would feel very wierd without it.