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Jump Ring Quality

What Makes a Quality Jump Ring?

By , About.com Guide

If you don’t start with quality jump rings, then no matter how good your jewelry techniques are you are already fighting a losing battle to make sure your rings stay closed. A quality jump ring includes a few key characteristics:

1) Precision cutting: Jump rings need to be cut very precisely so that both sides of the ring can properly meet with little to no gap between them. Sometimes when you cut your own rings, for example by using a wire cutter, one side may be flat and the other might be pointed a little. This means you need to use a jeweler’s file to file the other side flat.

2) Work-hardened wire: The wire used to make the jump rings should be properly work-hardened. This is especially important with thinner gauge wires. Though you can work-harden wire yourself by hammering on a metal bench block, you can also buy half-hard wire to make your jump rings.

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