Beadsmith Wrapping Wire Sterling Silver 18 ga HALF HARD ROUND 12.16 feet 1 oz

Precious metal wire from Beadsmith measures 12.16 feet, is 18 gauge, round profile, and is half hard.  The wire weighs one ounce.

Buying Wrapping Wire

Hardness: Dead-Soft wire is extremely malleable and can be bent easily into a myriad of shapes. Half-hard wire is malleable; however, it will maintain an intricate shape under stress. Full-hard wire holds its shape for wire-wrapping jewelry. Its tempered nature holds intricate designs well.

Helpful hint: At Handworks Studio we use dead soft wire for intricate wire wrapping projects and then "harden" it in a rock tumbler. That way, we get the benefits of working with soft wire with the end result of a piece that's extremely sturdy.

Metals: You can purchase fine wrapping wire from us in three metals: sterling silver, Argentium Silver, and gold filled. Argentium® silver is a fantastic type of sterling silver that contains a small amount of additional alloys, giving it dramatically better tarnish resistance than standard sterling silver. An occasional rinse or wipe with a soft cotton cloth with keep the metal in pristine condition. Only wire with Argentium® in the title is this type of metal.

Gauge sizes: The larger the gauge number, the smaller the wire profile. Just remember that this wire goes through a series of gauges making it smaller each time. The larger the number of gauges it's been through, the smaller the wire becomes. Measurements for some of our more popular gauges are found below.

18ga: .040" 1.024mm (That's 4/100 of an inch.)
20ga: .032" .812mm
22ga: .025" .644mm
24ga: .020" .511mm
26ga .016" .405mm

Profiles: Wrapping wire comes in a variety of shapes or profiles.

• Round wire is completely round.
• Half round wire has a semi-circle profile. It's a full round wire cut in half lengthwise and is half as thick as a full round profile wire of the same gauge.
• Square wire is square.

There are also decorative strips that fall under the wrapping wire category.