The Catch with Clasps

When I first started beading last summer, I fell in love with it instantly, and I felt that I was a pretty quick study. But I really struggled with clasps, and was less than impressed at my best efforts to end my pieces well. I’d tug and pull at the beading wire, snipping here and there, but it took me a while before I really felt good about the finishes on my work.

At the beginning, crimp covers saved me! What I couldn’t (sanely) accomplish with energetic tugs of the beading wire (pulling it through the eyes of the clasps and getting it to look nice and smooth and well finished), I was able to manage peacefully with crimp covers (see above photo). With them, I never had to worry about whether the beading wire was tight enough, and I never worried with jump rings. I just slid the crimp cover on the beading wire, slid on the crimp bead, crimped it, snipped the excess wire, closed the cover and used the arm of the crimp cover to attach the clasp. It was all simple and lovely. Moreover, a crimped bead inside a crimp cover needn’t be all fancy-schmancy. It is, after all, covered up!

Still, I wanted options for finishing my pieces well. And I wanted really professional looking jewelry in every way, so I kept at the clasp issue. After some trial and error, I got much better. Here are some things I learned along the way.

Having an array of clasps at your disposal helps a lot — lobster claws, barrel clasps, magnetic clasps, hook clasps and toggle clasps (click here to see some examples of clasps here on Beadage). When you finish a piece, you’ll have a variety of clasps to choose from. I certainly have my personal favorites. I really like toggle clasps, as they are great for heavier pieces or a more elegant piece. There are really decorative toggle clasps and really plain and simple ones. I always think that a unique toggle clasp makes the piece standout more, and gives it an added flair.

Let the style of your piece dictate your clasp, or vice-versa. If you’ve been inspired by a particular clasp, create a design that lives up to the clasp. If you’re a jeans-every-day type of girl like me, you might appreciate the practicality of barrel clasps or magnetic clasps. When I create jewelry for myself, I particularly like barrel clasps. When I make jewelry for others, I like using toggle or hook clasps. You can make all the rules!

As for tools, I only use a few when finishing my pieces — chain nose pliers, a nail clipper, crimping pliers and occasionally wire cutters (I’m able to snip beading wire really close with nail clippers, though). Always use crimping pliers for a great result. The crimping pliers have a couple of different dips and grooves so that your crimp bead looks nicely folded and rounded. Use the groove closest to your body to smash the crimp bead in one direction. Using the groove furthest away from you folds the crimp over for a crisp look.

When adding a clasp, thread your crimp bead onto your wire, and then bring the wire through the eye of one end of your clasp. Now bring the wire back down through the crimp bead and use your chain nose pliers to PULL — as tightly as you can to get the crimp bead snug against the clasp. In some instances, though, you may need to allow for a little slack, as some pieces won’t hang correctly if the beads are pulled too taut. So be careful to judge correctly what your piece needs.

When you are ready to string on your beads, be sure to string the excess wire (or ‘tail’) into the first two or three beads. With the tail safely hidden inside these beads, you won’t be able to see where the tail ends, so your crimp and clasp end look smooth and flawless.

Once you’ve strung your beads on and are ready to finish your piece, repeat the process with the clasp and crimp bead that you did on the first end of your piece. You’ll have to use your chain nose pliers to thread the tail through two or three beads. This can be pretty tricky, so you’ll have to work with it for a bit. 

When you see the tail peeking out after the third bead or so, pull it tightly so the tail comes down as far as it can. Now you can snip it close to the bead with the nail clippers. Smooth out your beads so that no wire shows through and you’re finished! Certainly smooth and finished pieces, particularly where adding clasps are concerned, can take a little time. But keep at it. The more times you try it, the better you’ll become.

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