How to Wire Wrap a Shark Tooth Necklace
Generally, a shark tooth necklace is made from a shark tooth wrapped in a piece of wire and then threaded onto a leather strip. These necklaces are not only extremely interesting conversation pieces, but they can also be quite beautiful. If you are making your own shark tooth necklace, you need to be sure to wrap the wire properly or you may find that your shark tooth has fallen right out of the wire wrapping. This technique will work even if your shark tooth is small or has been partially worn away by sand and time.
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Things You'll Need
- Hot glue gun
- Craft wire or florist's wire (thin as possible)
- Shark tooth
- Wire cutters
Instructions
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How to Wire Wrap a Shark Tooth Necklace
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1
Cut a length of wire about 12 inches long. Use the wire cutters. It does not have to be exact, but it does need to be fairly long to get the wrapping correct.
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2
Secure the wire to the back of the shark tooth. Use the hot glue gun to place a tiny dot of glue on the back of the shark tooth toward the top (wide end) of the tooth. You will have to hold the end of the wire in this glue until it sets. This may take 2 to 5 minutes.
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3
Wrap the wire around the base of the tooth 3 times. The wire loops can be directly on top of each other. The base of the tooth is the wide end of the tooth, but the area below the top, which will be larger and have a ledge that extends out slightly from the rest of the tooth. The wire loops will rest directly under this ledge and be held in place by the ledge.
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4
Begin wrapping the loops in this pattern: diagonal, horizontal (around the base) opposite diagonal. The diagonals will be formed by starting the loop underneath the ledge, then wrapping the wire over the top of the ledge and back down. The wire will hold its shape around the loop, but you also need to make sure that it is fairly snug so that the tooth does not shift. You will wrap diagonal in one direction; then a basic loop around the base; and then diagonal in the other direction. Do this cycle 2 full times.
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5
Make an eye to thread the necklace through. Pull the wire around and through the back of the group of horizontal loops so that it will not come undone. When you have done this, the wire will be sticking straight up. Bend the wire down so that there is a loop that extends out from behind the shark tooth. The loop should not be more than 1 inch long. Wrap the remaining wire around the base of the loop to hold it securely. When you run out of wire, tuck the end of the wire under the loops on the back of the shark tooth so that you do not get scratched.
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Tips & Warnings
For extra security, you can use a slightly larger drop of hot glue than the original one once you have finished wrapping the shark tooth. However, this is not necessary. The only reason to use the hot glue when getting started is to make it easier to hold the wire in place while you get started wrapping.
