All About Wire (part one)

It is very important to understand the basics of wire gauge, hardness, and material and how these factors affect your designs when working with jewelry wire.

Jewelry wire is available in many different thicknesses. The sizes are distinguished by a measuring system where the thickness of the wire is referred to as the ‘gauge’. The smaller the gauge number the thicker the wire. For example 28 gauge wire is very thin where 10 gauge is very thick. This will make a difference in the appearance of your finished project.

There are two different wire gauge systems ... AWG (American Wire Gauge) and SWG (Standard Wire Gauge) ... the later being mainly used in Europe. There are slight differences to be aware of as indicated in the chart below.

Now we move on to wire hardness. There are levels of hardness: Dead Soft, Half Hard and Full Hard. As the terms indicate, they range from easily pliable to less pliable or bendable. It is also important to know that the various materials do not feel the same when working such as Sterling Silver and 14k Gold. And not all wires are offered in all 3 hardnesses.

Dead soft wire is very easy to bend with very little resistance. It does not form hard bends and should not be used for anything structural. It's only use would be to wrap around a structural wire but it doesn't hold its shape.

Half hard wire is soft enough to bend but hard enough to hold its shape. It can be used in some structural pieces such as earrings as well as spiral and coiling. Great for earring hoops, jump rings, and clasps. This is my go to wire.

Full hard wire is very difficult to bend and unforgiving if you make a mistake. It will hold a shape very well but is brittle.

Next time I will discuss wire materials and hardening your wire

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