A non violated ring is one continues ring on the back of the stave any thing that changes that is considered a violation , could be a nick if it goes completly threw the ring ,a cut that goes threw the ring is defiantly a violation , sanding usually does not violate a ring providing thers enough thickness in the ring , a minor nick could be considered a violation of sorts but it can depend on where it's at a minor nick on the outer limbs might not be concerning but if it was is a working section in the limb it might be , knots can be dangerous areas for violations , chasing a ring was pretty scary to me the first time I did it but it's actually easer & more enjoyable then most books would make you think in my case I'm speaking to osage & BL hope that helped.