How to Make a Shark Tooth Necklace

Swimming with the sharks is not required to make a fun shark tooth necklace. In fact, shark tooth necklaces aren't made from regular shark teeth, but from teeth that have been fossilized over thousands of years. They are found in abundance in Florida and the Caribbean. Once you get your hands on a fossilized shark tooth, it's easy to turn it into a necklace.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Leather, hemp or waxed twine jewelry cord
• Shark tooth
• Jewelry wire
• Rounded jewelry pliers
• Beads (optional)

1. Wrap the wire around the tooth to create bail, or loop, for the cord. Lay the tooth face down on a flat surface and cut about a 12-inch length of wire.

2. Form a small loop at one end of the wire. Hold the loop just above the top of the center of the tooth, leaving about 1/4-inch of space between the tooth and the loop and then run the wire at about a 45-degree angle around one side of the "gum," or top of the tooth and back to the loop.

3. Make sure this wire is pulled snug against the tooth. Run it over the top of the wire where the loop is, and then around the "gum" or top of the tooth on the other side. Make sure the wire on both sides is pulled as tight as possible and then twist the remaining wire around the loop several times. When you reach the base of the loop, snip off any excess wire.

4. Slide the wire-wrapped shark's tooth on to the cord. If you are using any beads to decorate your shark tooth necklace, slide them on to the cord as well. If you don't want your beads right up against the shark tooth, tie a small knot in the cord to stop them at the place you desire. You may want to put knots on either side of the beads to keep them in place.

5. Tie the ends of the cord. At the end of each cord, tie a small overhand knot, then clip the cord within 1/4 inch of the knot. This will add a finished look to the necklace. Then, holding both ends together, tie an overhand knot at the end of the necklace. Leave the knot fairly loose, and work it as close as possible to the ends of the cord. Pull the knot tight.

Tips & Warnings

• Buy a little extra jewelry wire so you have some to practice with when making your first wire-wrapped shark tooth. It can take some practice to get the wire snug, and you may not be able to reuse the wire if you don't get it right the first time.
• Make sure any decorative beads you plan to use have holes large enough to accommodate the thread or cord you are using. Beading cord is much thicker than beading thread and requires beads that have very large holes.

Resources

• Online Wire Wrapping Instructions