{"id":2407,"date":"2009-02-06T03:05:29","date_gmt":"2009-02-06T11:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/?p=2407"},"modified":"2009-11-11T18:06:38","modified_gmt":"2009-11-12T02:06:38","slug":"beadalon-beading-wire-other-bead-wire-jewelry-making-supplies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/beadalon-beading-wire-other-bead-wire-jewelry-making-supplies\/2407\/","title":{"rendered":"Beadalon Beading Wire vs Other Bead Wire | Jewelry Making Supplies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Beadalon<\/p>\n

Not All Bead Stringing Wires Are Created Equal:
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lately I’ve been making a lot of custom beaded lanyards and eyeglass leashes for some customers who just keep ordering and ordering and ordering. I guess no one told them there<\/span> was a recession on [smiles]<\/em>. <\/span><\/p>\n

By the way, if you have no idea what a lanyard is, or would like to see some of the ones I’ve been making, you can have a look at this article: Selling Custom Beaded Lanyards | Make It, Wear It, They’ll Buy It<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Now with all of this lanyard production going on in my studio of late, I’ve been using up a fair amount of beading wire… actually ran out the other day and needed to get some more. But the craft store where I usually get my Beadalon Bead Stringing Wire<\/a>\"\", is kind of far away. So instead, I dashed over to the local Walmart, hoping to find something suitable.<\/span><\/p>\n

They did have some 7 Strand Beading Wire called Fashion Cord for a good price, so I decided to give it a try. The silver color wasn’t as shiny as the Beadalon brand, but it did have an aged look, which I kind of liked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Back to the studio…<\/span><\/p>\n

The first difference I noticed was that the Fashion Cord brand seemed stiffer and didn’t drape as nicely as the Beadalon. Then I noticed it wasn’t as springy and it kinked really easily.<\/span><\/p>\n

After closer inspection of both the old packaging from the Beadalon Stringing Wire, and the new Fashion Cord Beading Wire, I noticed the Beadalon said nylon coated stainless steel. And the other just said nylon coated wire. There’s the difference!<\/span><\/p>\n

Stainless steel is a very strong metal that is extremely springy and holds its shape. It is often used for making springs. Memory Wire is actually made with stainless steel so if you’ve ever worked with that, you’ll know what I mean.<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to the quality of stringing wire it also makes a difference how many strands there are. Wires with 7 strands are considered good flexibility, 19 strands are better and 49 strands are the best.<\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t want too much flexibility on the lanyards because they are quite long at 37″ to 40″ and with the weight of all the beads and findings they hang straight down anyway. But when you’re making more delicate jewelry, you will find the higher strand wires give you a nicer drape and are worth the extra price.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyways, what I learned from this whole bead wire purchasing experience, was that it’s worth it to pay a little more or drive a little further for better quality beading wire like Beadalon<\/a>\"\". If you don’t, you may just end up with kinky jewelry (err… kinked jewelry wire is probably a better way of saying that)<\/em>. Or… jewelry pieces that hang funny.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Cindy\"Polymer<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not All Bead Stringing Wires Are Created Equal: Lately I’ve been making a lot of custom beaded lanyards and eyeglass leashes for some… 4<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[975,1582,1583,2740,2704],"class_list":["post-2407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supplies","tag-necklaces-pendants-lanyards-accessories","tag-stainless-steel","tag-strand-count","tag-polymer-clay-tools-supplies-organization","tag-wirework-and-polymer-clay"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2407\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}