What Are Crimp Beads?
Crimp beads, also known as crimping beads or crimp tubes, are small circles of metal used in jewelry making for finishing necklaces and bracelets. They come in precious metal such as gold or silver, but also plated and filled metals that are less expensive.
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Uses
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Beaders use crimp beads to attach clasps to necklaces or bracelets. The crimp bead holds the end of the beading wire secure around a clasp or other jewelry finding so the beads don't fall off the wire. Crimp beads can also be used inside a bead tip when finishing the end of a piece of jewelry. Instead of making a knot in the beading material, the crimp bead serves as the knot. Necklaces with "floating" beads that sit alone on a wire have small crimps on either side of the bead to keep it stationary.
Pliers
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Special pliers are required for properly squeezing a standard crimp bead or tube closed. They come in three sizes: micro, regular and mighty. The larger the crimp bead, the larger the pair of pliers required to bend it properly. Securing a crimp bead is a two-step process. The section at the back of the pliers, "the crimper," is used first to flatten the crimp against the wire and crease the center of the crimp bead. The slot in the front of the pliers, "the rounder," then grasps the flattened crimp and gently folds the two edges together. Specialty crimp beads, such the Twisted Tornado Crimp®, only require the first step to secure them to the wire.
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Styles
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Some crimps are decorative and resemble beads, so they don't stand out in a jewelry design and can be shown in front, such as in a floating bead necklace. Others are simple metal tubes meant to be used near the clasp, where they aren't noticed as much. The "ribbed" crimp has a slightly textured surface, so it looks less plain than a crimp tube. Scrimps® and Primps® are a combination between a screw and a crimp bead where the beading wire is held inside the bead by a side-angled screw, and they look less plain than the tubes. Crimp tubes with soldered loops on the end can be used to finish the ends of jewelry or create links without jump rings. The Twisted Tornado Crimp® is a decorative crimp that resembles twisted metal.
Crimp Bead Covers
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Generally, crimp beads are not very attractive once flattened, but bead covers help fix this. The covers look like small round beads split in half. You slip the flattened crimp bead between the two halves, then press the cover closed with needle nose pliers. The result is a plain silver or gold toned bead on your necklace--much more attractive than a sliver of crushed metal. The covers blend in easily with the other beads on the necklace.
Problems
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Crimp beads, particularly those made from cheap, brittle metals, may crack and fall apart either when you flatten and crease them, or when you attempt to bend the creased metal in half to finish the crimp. Unfortunately, there's no way to know from looking at a crimp if it's well made or not. However, precious metals--silver, gold and copper--which are naturally soft, should not have this problem. It's It is also important to use the right size crimp with your wire, and the right size pliers with your crimp, and to press gently when bending and folding crimps. Too much pressure and they may break regardless of what metal they're made from.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Crimp pliers secure a clasp on beading wire. All photos by Catherine Chant
