Hammered Clasp

Hammered Clasp

I am a sucker for textured, hammered, twisted, tortured wire.  I love it, the whole rustic look.  I was first exposed to the whole concept when I was looking at a website by Connie Fox of www.jatayu.com.

This clasp is best made from 1.00 mm (18 gauge) or thicker wire and is easy to make if you have a few tools around the place: ball pein hammer, round needle nose pliers, flat needle nose pliers, fine metal file and steel plate or concrete to hammer against.






I originally got the idea and love for this clasp from Connie Fix's art work and she produced a tutorial on how to create a coiled bangle with the clasp in part two of her tutorial on how to make a coiled bangle. But I believe in showing my own work where I can, and give credit to where I got inspiration or learned a technique.

All images on this blog entry are of my own work.

The clasp can be made in petite sizes or large, bold sizes depending on the wire gauge used.  Smaller clasps can be made on 1 mm (18 gauge) round wire and larger clasps made on 1.5 mm (14 gauge) round wire.  I would not suggest using any smaller than 1 mm (18 gauge) round wire as the wire becomes too thin to remain sturdy.

The wire used for this clasp is continuous wire, a commodity usually kept by wire artists.  The clasp is easily created once the technique is learned, readily available in the workshop and low cost compared to commercially purchased bold clasps.

The clasp works equally well in brass, copper, silver, gold filled and gold wire.  The clasp allows construction straight from the wire spool to minimize metal waste.

I recommend practicing the clasp in copper or brass for the first time before using silver or gold.

This is a perfect first wire project to learn a few new techniques such as:
Work hardening
Hammered Texture
Basic Loop creation
Spiral creation
Flattening wire
Filing
Sanding

This clasp is great for necklaces or bracelet closures where the weight is sufficient to keep the project closed.  On a bracelet, it is important to make the hook part quite round so that the bracelet does not brush against something and come open.

If thick enough wire is used, and the hook portion completely closed into a basic loop style closure, this could even be used as a bag finding if you make your own bags or purses out of other crafts.

Link to my Instruactable Tutorial

This was the first coiled bangle I made, including my very first attempt at a hammered clasp.

I got better over time and it is now one of my preferred clasps to use along with a toggle clasp.