Hammering wire

[Former_Member]

Hi there,
can i hammer any kind of wire? or there is some kinds only could be hammered and others not?
and what about silver plated ?

thanks!

[wavejewelry]

Silver plated wire cannot be hammered. The hammering process will remove the plate. I do hammer gold-filled wire but only with extreme care. I'd recommend sticking with only solid silver, gold, copper, brass etc. to start out with.

[Former_Member]

thanks julie
so you mean only plated wires can't be hammered as they will lose the plated layer, other than that is ok?

[wavejewelry]

Yes, that's my opinion. Maybe others will chime in with their experiences.

[Former_Member]

thanks Julie :)

[HEvansGems]

Craft wires that are coated with coloured layers or anti-tarnish layers can't be hammered either for the same reason. If you hammer non-tarnish craft wire, you'll expose the copper at its core and the wire will eventually tarnish.

I agree with Julie that if you want to hammer or otherwise texture wire, you should stick with solid metals such as sterling, copper, brass, etc.

[Former_Member]

thanks H Evans