Sterling silver bulk chain?

[Former_Member]

Hey guys I'm looking to make some new items for the new year using some chain and I wondered where you guys get yours or if you've heard/seen a good/cheap place to get sterling silver chain in bulk lengths? I would greatly appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks so much in advance.

Ivy

[sarahndippity]

I like monsterslayer.com

[Former_Member]

Awesome! Thanks Sarah and your shop is INCREDIBLE!!

[artdi]

I usually order from Rio Grand or Metalliferous by the foot. They both have online stores.

[FleurDesignsJewelry]

I really like siifindings.com. They have LOTS of great stuff and you can get free shipping. They also give price breaks the more you buy. AND, if you use the SAVE20 coupon code, you can get 20% off. I don't think you have to have an initial purchase of $250 or more, either. So many places require that. =)

[Former_Member]

Awesome! Thanks guys! These have all been awesome so far!

[Former_Member]

Love monsterslayer.com, and just checked out siifindings.com. Their prices are even better than monsterslayer, and it's 30% off thru today! Thanks Fleur.

[Former_Member]

Yeh I'm LOVING SSI Findings! AMAZING prices and AWESOME selection! I'm about to place an order with them tonight or tomorrow! Thanks so much Fleur!

[FleurDesignsJewelry]

Always happy to pass on helpful information. =)

[LinorStoreDesigns]

I have questions about Sterling Silver wire. I haven't used it yet because of the expense and I hear it's less forgiving than craft wire.

Do you think it's better than sp or copper coated wire?
Do your customers go for it more than sp wire?
What kinds of pliers do you use to not mark them? Or just dip them in the gooey stuff? I found plastic tips, but they slip off my pliers.

These are the types of jewelry I make with wire:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80684453/beige-pearl-wire-wrapped-necklace
http://www.etsy.com/listing/71709947/white-pearls-and-copper-wire-wrapped

Thanks all in advance.

[TheRelicShoppe]

I use sterling silver wire, but I use it because I hammer some of my pieces flat so it needs to be silver all the way through rather than just plated. I do know that sterling is a lot softer and easier to work with than the nickel-silver alloy I was using previously, as long as you get dead soft rather than half-hard. I haven't had much of a problem with marking up the wire with my pliers, but then again I do hammer most of my work which removes the dings. I'd say just be gentle when manipulating it, and you should be fine.

[Former_Member]

I use half hard sterling silver wire just because I prefer to offer a higher quality product to my customers. Everything I've ever owned that was silver plated it has either rubbed off or chipped off and I can't take the chance of that happening down the road to a customer since word of mouth is your best advertisement and all.

As for the pliers marking the wire I even had a bit of a problem with the plastic tipped pliers marking it...actually more so than I do my metal ones. I have used said "goey stuff" as well and that actually does a decent job if you remember to dip them every night after you're done working with them so they can dry overnight. I find if I work a little more gently, or sometimes I even use my round nose pliers, I don't have as much problem with the marring of the wire. Also I find that running it over really good with my polishing cloth seems to help with the marks a lot as well.

Hope this helps!

[FleurDesignsJewelry]

I agree with Ivy. I almost always use sterling silver wire for my jewelry for the quality. I used some sp headpins for a cluster bead ring I made recently (since it was my first time to make it, I didn't want to risk the cost of the ss headpins if it looked terrible), and I found them to be much harder to work with; not as pliable or cooperative as ss headpins. You can find some pliers-- chain nose or jewelers-- with smooth "jaws" that won't mar the surface of the wire for pretty cheap. No real need to buy anything super expensive.

[LinorStoreDesigns]

Thanks Ellen Ivy and Fleur, I found some plastic covered round pliers today. I don't want to buy a whole oz to start with, so I'm pricing around. If you would, please let me know if you see any good deals.

I can't use silver plated to wrap earrings and I stocked up at a trade show, so I'm good for a little while.

[FleurDesignsJewelry]

If you don't want to buy a whole oz., Rio Grande lets you buy by the foot. It's cheaper if you buy more, but silver is down a bit at the moment, so even the higher price isn't too bad. You can also buy by the foot at www.thunderbirdsupply.com. They don't have quite as many beads, etc. as Rio, but I'm sure you could find enough fun stuff to make the shipping worth it ;-). Rio and Thunderbird are also good places to recycle your scrap metal (although I think Thunderbird only does it for store credit, now). Anyway, it's nice to know that you can save your little bits and pieces and get a little cash or credit back!

[Former_Member]

Actually if you look earlier in this thread Linda you'll see one suggested www.siifindings.com they are the cheapest I have found for solid sterling ANYTHING! Of course before I saw the post here I went and stocked up at my local supplier. By sheapest I mean $1.73/ft cable chain! Oh and don't know if they're still running the special or not but they were offering 20% off your entire first purchase the other day! Alos for not having to buy by the ounce I also go to www.armstrongtoolsupply.com.

As for the scraps...take them to your local jeweler. I don't mean Kay or anything like that I mean your locally owned mom and pop jewelry store. Because so many people are in such a tight spot and selling off jewelry they have pretty much all started buying back metals including scraps from jewelry making. I get a pretty good chunk of change from the guy I take mine to.

[LinorStoreDesigns]

Thanks guys, I looked in sifindings and the sale was over. I just invested in some beads and gemstones so it's not a good time for me to buy just yet. I have a few more things to practice with too before I take that step up.

Really appreciate the help.

[FleurDesignsJewelry]

Actually, they always have a 20% sale going on at siifindings. There's a little box in the right hand corner of the site that says "SAVE20". It kinda comes and goes on the page sometimes . Even if you don't see it, put it in as your coupon code when you check out. I've never not gotten 20% off.

[LinorStoreDesigns]

Fleur, oh thanks, I didn't see it before. Thank you so much.

[Former_Member]

Sweet! Good to know Fleur! Thanks!