Hook and Eye Clasp
The hook and eye style clasp is one of the simplest clasps to make out of wire. To make one you'll need about 1 inch of wire for the eye part and about 134 inches of wire for the hook part. For tools, you'll need a jeweler's file and a pair of round-nosed pliers. Nylon-nosed pliers are optional, but I like to use them to flatten the wire components after I make them so they are nice and flat.
File the ends of your wire first. Then, to get started making the "eye" part of the clasp, take about an inch of wire, and with round-nosed pliers, use half of the piece of wire to make a loop, as shown in Figure 6.40.
Figure 6.40
Round-nosed pliers are perfect for making round loops in wire.
Figure 6.40
Round-nosed pliers are perfect for making round loops in wire.
Repeat this loop process, but this time, make the loop go in the opposite direction using the rest of the wire so that you end up with a piece that looks like a "figure 8," as pictured in Figure 6.41.
Make sure the ends of the "figure 8" are flush up against the sides of the wire so that the beading wire or other stringing media you might use does not come loose through any cracks in your "eye" section. Now you have the "eye" part ready.
Figure 6.41
The eye section of the clasp looks like the number eight (8).
Figure 6.41
The eye section of the clasp looks like the number eight (8).
For the other section of the clasp, the hook, again use round-nosed pliers and make a loop on one end of the larger piece of wire (see Figure 6.42).
Figure 6.42
Start the hook by making a loop on one end of the wire.
Figure 6.42
Start the hook by making a loop on one end of the wire.
Next, grasp the rest of the straight part of the wire with the wider part of the round-nosed pliers, and wrap the wire halfway around the nose of the pliers. To finish off, use the narrowest end of the round-nosed pliers to make a tiny loop on the end of the hook area you just wrapped (see Figure 6.43).
Figure 6.43
Finish off the hook area with an itty-bitty loop.
Figure 6.43
Finish off the hook area with an itty-bitty loop.
Once the hook and eye sections are complete (see Figure 6.44), you can attach them to the ends of a necklace. To secure the clasp, just insert the hook part of the clasp through one of the loop sections on the eye part of the clasp.
Figure 6.44
Pictured is a completed hook-and-eye clasp.
Figure 6.44
Pictured is a completed hook-and-eye clasp.
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