Wire is an integral component to jewelry. Whether you’re wire-wrapping, creating coils, weaving or any other technique, the right wire choice will make your life easier. But, how do you know which wire to choose? Learn about how hardness, gauge and more can affect your end result.

Hardness

Dead-soft means it’s easy to bend and can be manipulated easily without tools. That’s it. These metals do not form hard or shape angles and will not hold shape well. It is good though for wire weaving, coils and spirals or wrapping around a harder base. This wire can be work harden, but if using coils, only the outer part will become hard, the inside of the coils will remain soft. Aluminum will always remain soft.

Full-hard is the exact opposite of dead-soft. This wire is difficult to bend and can be a bit brittle if bent too far. Full-hard wire retains its shape exceptionally well. Full-hard metal wire or sheet is often used as a frame or base. It is possible to soften full-hard metal by the process of annealing. 

Half-hard is the sweet spot between the previous two tempers. This wire is fairly easy to bend, but it will retain its shape afterward. This particular hardness is the most commonly used wire for wire-wrapping, earwires, jumprings and hard angles. Half-hard metals can be made softer or work hardened to a full-hard temper.

To soften up metal, you loosen the molecules up through the process of annealing. annealing is a process of heating and cooling resulting in more flexible wire. When annealing, metal oxidizes extremely quickly and a pickling solution is used to clean the metal to pristine quality again.

Lets talk about the type of wire that you will be using. Wire is listed by gauge. Gauge tells you what size the wire is. The larger the gauge size, the smaller the wire.

You can use any wire, but I recommend starting with non-tarnishing wire. Other wire is copper, silver, brass etc. These can also be found in the non-tarnishing wires. Most projects will use 18-28 gauge wire.

There are many stones that you can use. Gemstone beads are wonderful to use because you can run the wire through them.

Cabochons – come in all sizes and shapes, Some are are harder to wire wrap, but lend themselves to interesting designs. Cabochons can be made from different materials, from resin to actual gemstones to crystals. I love working with the actual gemstones. but the others lend themselves to great designs.

If you plan on making pendants, you should have some type of cord to use. You can find many different types from leather to chain to silk yarn. you can also find many of these already with a clasp attachment, which makes it super easy.

the best place to find these items are at the bigger jewelry shops, such as Shipwreck Beads https://www.shipwreckbeads.com and Fire Mountain Gems https://www.firemountaingems.com.