Thursday, January 14, 2016

Five Tools to Get You Started Making Wire Wrapped Jewelry

1. Wire Cutters:
The type of wire cutters you buy is very important. You want a very close cut on you wraps to avoid filing. I use these. I got them at a jewelry wholesaler. You can easily find them on line.


                                            



2. Needle nose pliers. These are not what your daddy has in his tool box. You need jewelry grade pliers. They will have smooth stainless steel noses that won't mark up your wire.
Here are the ones I use:

                                      


3. Flat Nose Pliers
These are important to have to flatten the ends of wire wraps and for closing jump rings.
Here are the ones I use:


                                 



4. Nylon Tip Pliers
These are great because they won't mark up wire when using larger gauge wire or aluminum wire.
They are also great for straightening out kinked wire.
Here are the ones I use:

                                     


5. Jumpring Mandrel
This mandrel has small size steps so you can make jump rings. You just coil your wire around the size you want and then cut straight up the side. More about jump rings later.
Here is the one I use:

                                    

So those are the top five tools I use every day. You can get started with just the first three. Check your local jewelry supply store or shop on line. If you buy on line, I suggest you read reviews before you order. In future I will go into detail about where I get my jewelry supplies.