Various Crimps

Here's my thoughts on various crimps and methods that I've tried and not tried.

Regular 'ole crimp tubes, with crimping pliers: Use sterling and gold-fill only (or gold, if they have it and you are going all gold, not sure they do, and don't know about the strength of that one). If you use plated, they are not quite as soft metal, and not as malleable for the crimping process; I believe they will get over-worked sooner, and be more likely to break.

Use the right crimp tubes for the appropriate diameter beading wire, and the appropriate crimping pliers to match. Micro Crimping pliers, Crimping pliers, or Mighty Crimping pliers.

I've tried out the Magical Crimp Forming Tool a bit, and my first went wacky, but since that one I've done better. Try to make sure you are centered in the tool; this leads to me crimping with the nose of the pliers upwards, so I can more easily center the crimp in the pliers. I am afraid of overworking the crimp, but I still make sure to do enough presses to get the ovoid shape as a final result. I also wonder if the crimp is biting down into the nylon coating of the wire, which concerns me if it stresses the wire too much, but we'll see. I have seen a touch of splitting of the edge of the crimp at the edge, where it's crimped down into its tightest diameter; not splitting so much as I think it's just folded over itself, and the fold, squished down, is looking like a separation, but it's not. Especially since the first pressings of the tool produce a ravioli shape, I think when the corners of this shape get crimped over, that produces a fold. But I'm talking really tiny here; the oval looks good to me!

A caveat: This is made for use with Softflex/Softtouch .019 beading wire. I would GUESS that it would work with other companies' .019, but I haven't tried that. Or with Beadalon's .018. So designs that require a thinner diameter, it may not be good for. Me, I tend to go with the manufacturer's instructions, so I've got a roll of the Softflex stuff.

Beadalon's EZ Crimp - I haven't tried the sterling ones that are part of the actual clasp finding, but I have tried the separate base metal? ones that are just the crimp and loop. They say sterling silver on the package but I don't think they MAKE these separate ones in sterling silver . . . let me say these SUCK, royally. Squeezing with all my might, using the proper pliers, I barely ever got any kind of a squish at all, and certainly nothing that would grab and hold a wire, let alone securely.

I never did receive a complimentary screw crimp finding (set?) that Beadalon was going to send me, through communicating through Katie Hacker . . . granted I replied to her awhile after her email to me requesting my address, but when I queried her about it I never rec'd a reply. I'm assuming it was going to be a starter set, because w/out the tool in that set you can't use the finding. These look a bit too industrial for my taste, anyway. I was surprised to see these used in the focal area of a necklace in a recent ad in a magazine - I have qualms about using something so . . . hardware store-ish looking, at the back of a necklace, let alone the front . . . . If ever sent them, I will try, and report. Perhaps ease of use and security of hold would convert me, but I'm not optimistic given my experience with the not so EZ Crimps.

Wire Guardians by Beadalon - I have some of these, but I have not used them yet. They do seem like a great idea, and that they will reduce stress on the crimp.

I've used some crimp findings on leather, but I will talk about those in a post about leather, suede, and ribbon and finishing them off, sometime.

I'm not fond of the, use some flat nose pliers and just squeeze your crimp tube flat, method. I don't like the look. I prefer to use crimping pliers and then use a crimp cover to cover it. Although with the Magical Crimp Forming tool, covers aren't necessary, and now I feel I can do illusion-style necklaces, tin-cup necklaces, and the like, as I really don't like the look of naked crimps on those that most people do, and for many designs, the size of the crimp covers would interfere with the design.

The above method is what is used with Tornado crimps, which are crimp tubes with a twist in them, that is said to grab the wire better. It does sound like a good concept, and I can see why the just squish flat with some flat-nose pliers method is what is directed to be used for those. Again, though, I don't like that look, so I probably won't be using these. I may try them sometime, but we'll see.

I've seen "crimp beads" in catalogs, but have never used them. I do have to wonder if they hold as well as a tube, though, since they start out rounded away outwards from the wire, while a tube is slim and close to the wire . . . I think you use crimp pliers with these, so perhaps that doesn't matter.