The following are snippets of an online conversation on the subject of wire and metal, taken from The Mellow Bead, an eBay discussion group founded by Laura Bracken:

Dead Soft Wire is quite malleable and will bend easily into different shapes. It doesn’t hold its shape well, though, in high-stress situations, like for clasps.

Half Hard Wire is malleable, but can maintain a more intricate shape under moderate stress. It’s good for wire-wrapped jewelry that has weighted parts (charms, etc).

Full Hard Wire keeps its shape for the most part. Its tempered nature holds intricate designs well, making it perfect for clasps.

Laura

I use a $20.00 soldering pen from Radio Shack for jumpring soldering or head pins when I just need a few, it runs on butane.

shawneejack

I wouldn't make jump rings in anything less than 18 or 16 gauge. If using 20 gauge, I would hammer them, but there is no guarantee that they will hold. I think most jump rings come in 20 or 18 gauge if bought. But for strength and durability I would use nothing less than 18 gauge if making them yourself. And then I would still hammer them with a rubber mallet to harden them. That way they aren't flattened.

TIP: Buy dead soft wire. It hardens as you use it and to harden it you cut a piece of wire and hold one end in your flat nose pliers and pull the wire through your polishing cloth, with your fingers pulling the wire to the end in one long stroke. The faster you do it the harder it gets. It will actually get hot to the touch. That is how you know you are doing it right. Do this about 8 to 10 times and your wire will be shiny and clean and hardened just right to work with. I think you will be much happier with the results than if using a drawing plate.

The point is that when you use dead soft it is easier to shape. Half hard is harder to shape. When you buy dead soft, it is easier to work with. Even when you harden it slightly with the polishing cloth. As you work with the wire it continues to harden. It is just that hardened wire is harder to work with and easier to snap when working with. My experience has been that dead soft wire can be shaped and worked with a lot easier. But if half hard wire works for you, then go for it. Nothing is written in stone.

I just like having control over my wire. I like to be able to harden it to a point I want, not to the point it is sold at. It is experience for me. I like to be able to feel the wire at a point that is workable for me. Wire is like spaghetti. Everyone likes it at a different el dente, or softness/hardness. It is a personal preference. But once you know your wire and your preference, then you can decide on your own how hard you want it.

Patty

This is just what I use and it works for me. For wrapping my pearls, I use 24 gauge because nothing else will fit the holes but hey, how much holding power do you need for a little itty, bitty pearl. For wrapping all lampwork beads and it also depends on the size, I use 22 and 20 gauge. I use both half hard and dead soft, you really can't tell THAT much difference and it just depends on what I feel like ordering. Also, just working with silver wire hardens it. For the bracelet links, I use 20 gauge and for this, I do use half hard. I make my jump rings in 18 and 16 gauge and then again, it depends on what I'm wrapping but mostly, I use 16 gauge jump rings.

Also, one thing to remember when making jewelry for children. You want to keep your jump rings open in case they get it caught on something and it DOES need to give and break away. That's just my opinion. I leave "most" of my jump rings open for this reason, even in adults’ jewelry, only some are closed. If you hammer with a plastic hammer, it will hold. I also prefer half hard in a 16 gauge jump ring. Oh and Patty's right, you need to sway both ends of the jump ring back and forth and this will wire harden it.

Krissa

I just bought some stuff called Tool Magic.

It is a liquid rubber that you can dip the ends of your wire wrapping tools in and it makes a protective coating on the tips of the tools so you don't scratch your wire.

I thought the stuff was pretty neat, as I am always afraid that I will mark up the wire and then it looks like....well, you know. I have the ends of my tools wrapped with tape to prevent marking the wire. This Tool Magic will work much better, I am sure.

Karen

Reply about the anvil/hammer requirements.

My hubby is a part-time artist-blacksmith so I've learned from him. And we own about eight anvils between us. You will, most likely, also want more than one type of anvil and more than one size.

The bench anvils with the horns are useful for doing metal working on curved surfaces. If you plan to make rings or to do curved surfaces such as flowers or leaves, the horns are really needed. Buy one with one round horn and one flat horn. The anvil will need to be bolted in place or it will tip over when you "whack" the horn. if your anvil falls to your concrete floor, it can crack or shatter. Another good reason to bolt it in place.

For general hardening of most pieces, i usually use a steel bench block. I actually have two bench blocks. Two bench blocks are much more useful than one. You can put headpins on them (flattened part NOT on the block) and then roll the headpins between the bench blocks. Presto -- you have straight headpins. You can also sandwich scrolls, etc. between the blocks then swack the top block. This will straighten the pieces without leaving messy hammer marks.

There are also very cool forming stakes for more advanced work and dapping blocks if you want to make beads (and this is the bead group after all). All of these are reasonably expensive though and you probably want to see if you really want to work with metal in this way before you buy them.

Hammers all have very specific uses. if you're just work hardening things or flattening things, get a rawhide mallet.

In any case, you will need to take care of your anvils and hammers. if you buy a cast steel bench anvil, you will need to remove the paint from the surfaces you plan to use. This means sanding and leveling the anvil surfaces. if you buy steel hammers such as chasing or forming hammers, you will need to sand the surfaces of the hammer smooth. in general, neither hammers nor anvils come "ready-to-use" for jewelry work. You will need to keep these tools "dressed" (really, that's what it's called) and that will require a reasonable amount of work. if you don't keep your tools in good shape, you will transfer dings, scratches, etc. to your finished work -- ick.

Katherine

Just a note: Silver chasing hammers come ready to use. The surface is mirror smooth. But you need to be very careful not to mar the surface and keep it polished.

Patty

I’m a complete control freak. I round the edges of any tool, including the chasing hammers so I don't get edge effects from the tool. I find this additional step cuts down on the swearing later on.

To dress tools, I get 3M abrasive paper (the wet/dry stuff) from the hardware store and sand away. I usually start with 220 grit and work down to the finest grit I can get at the store. Usually I can get 220, 320, 400, 600. I’m usually happy with that. You can continue going down in grit with micron-graded abrasive finishing sheets. But, usually I stop at 600 grit. After that smoothness, you can buff out any surface marks in your finished piece.

I get cheap tools such as hammers from the hardware store and dress them myself. You can buy sets of these for what you will pay for a single hammer from a jewelry supply catalog. You can also texture the surface of these cheap tools for different effects. Or with patience, shape them anyway you want them. Just be sure not to change the temper when you grind away.

For anvils, a lot of blacksmiths use dressed railroad rails. You can even get part of a steel I-beam to use. Any big chunk of steel will work. Try looking in my favorite place to shop, the metal scrap yard. if you just want a smooth surface to on which to swack things to harden/flatten them, maybe that's what you want to do. if they have steel plate, there's usually a welder on the premises that can cut a piece for you. You will need to sand and grind away, but talk about inexpensive. By the way, copper and brass sheet, wire, etc. is dirt cheap at scrap yards (if you are looking for practice materials).

Katherine