A few days ago, I  posted: "Great! Custom Steel makes an appearance. so, here's an idea: send me some free jewelry. I'll review it & post my results for all of RAB  (rec.arts.bodyart) to see. Then everyone can go buy Custom Steel jewelry without worrying whether the product matches the pictures. I know, it's so giving of me  to offer my time this way."
     Well, shortly after I posted this, Pat from  Custom Steel emailed me for my address. I was asked to list my piercings & their gauges, & to 'let them surprise me with the items they send'. So I did, & they have.
     First off, Pat said I should receive the package by Friday the 14th or early the next week, which in company lingo translates loosely to "next friday ". I received it on the 14th. That's nice. So  I tear into the package. I've been sent a set each of 2ga 1" "taper-a-saurus  rex" crescents, 2ga "stinger talons", & 10ga 3/4" " sprocket rings".  So, three designs, six pieces of jewelry. Each talon/crescent came with two  black o-rings. At first glance, everything's shiny & beautiful & bright. Then I opened the plastics containing the jewelry & got my  nose right up next to it. This. stuff. is. gorgeous. It's Anatometal-gorgeous. that's right, I call it as on par with Anatometal, & we all know how nice Barry's stuff is. however, it's not astm f-138 - according to Pat, all of Custom Steel's material is 316L, except the beads which are 316. the 18-10ga ring stock is 316LVM. some falls into f-138, but it's not consistent & so they don't say it complies with implant grade specs.
     Back to the actual appearance, I can't find a single flaw on this metal, & I looked for a full ten minutes. I thought I found one once, but it was my own fingerprint. I'm fully impressed. I wasn't sent anything with threads, but looking at the outward quality of this jewelry, I figure they've probably got the threading down, too.
Every cut into the stinger talons is identical to the next. the  sprocket rings are beautiful & perfect. When I put one through my 2ga lobe grommet, it kept flipping so the bottom part of the ring was on top, but I was pleased to find that the weight of the bead it came with (1/4") is perfect to  keep the bottom of the ring where it should be. The taper-a-saurus rex crescents, as silly as I feel typing that out, are pristine. Of note: each little square bump on the edge of the rex crescents isn't the same, but it's on  a curve & personally I feel the differences amount to character for  the ring as opposed to annoyance at imperfection. & anyhow, I had to  get mighty close to even see that, but it's a statement on quality that THAT'S the only thing about this jewelry I could find that MIGHT be considered a negative.
     The catalog is cute. they made a big fake newspaper with prices & weekly-world-news-esque articles. Also of interest is that they sell 16ga nostril screws, which I recall having a heck of a time trying to find. Seems most companies only make them in 18 & 20ga. So, here's the  deal. custom steel is, in my esteemed, educated opinion, simply lovely & worthy of your many assorted holes. even the natural ones.
-Lish