by Rena Klingenberg.
Make this easy, graceful version of a wire hook clasp.
Here’s how it looks in action on the back of a necklace:
But it’s also pretty enough to be the focal element on the front of a necklace:
Supplies:
- 16-gauge round soft or half-hard wire, 3″ (76mm) long.
(I used copper wire.) - Wire cutter.
- Cup bur, wire rounder, or jewelry file – to round and smooth your wire ends.
- Sharpie marker – to mark your pliers.
- Jeweler’s steel block (or other smooth, sturdy surface for hammering) – for hammering the finished clasp.
- Plastic, nylon, or rawhide hammer – for flattening and hammer-hardening your finished clasp.
Decide the Size
Your Spirals Should Be
In this tutorial, I demonstrate making a clasp that has fairly open spirals, like this:
However, depending on your use of this clasp, you may prefer to make the spirals a bit less open for security.
You could do that by using the tips of your round nose pliers, with a result like this:
How to Make a
Spiral Wire Hook Clasp
We’ll start by marking your pliers, so you can make the centers of your spirals the same size.
Use your Sharpie marker to make a mark partway down one jaw of your pliers:
(Later you can remove the mark from your pliers using a few drops of rubbing alcohol on a small piece of paper towel.)
Now it’s time to cut your wire 3″ (76mm) long:
Use your cup bur, wire rounder, or jewelry file to round and smooth your wire ends:
Now we’ll make an open wire spiral in one end of your wire.
If you’re new to making an open wire spiral, see my easy 3-minute video, How to Make an Open Wire Spiral.
Use your round nose pliers to grasp the tip of one end of your wire, right where you made your Sharpie mark.
Make a small hook in the wire end (this hook will be the center of your wire spiral):
Now your wire should look like this:
Now continue making your open wire spiral.
Move your pliers a tiny way down the wire, and make a tiny bend in the wire.
Keep moving your pliers along the wire in tiny steps, and make tiny bends in the wire as you go, to continue the open spiral:
As you work, your wire should look like this:
. . . and continue to form your spiral until it looks like this:
Your first wire spiral is done.
Now move to the other end of your wire, to make the second open wire spiral.
Start by using your round nose pliers to make a hook at the end of your wire; but this time you’ll curve the hook so that it points away from your first spiral:
After making your hook, your wire should look like this:
Now continue making your open wire spiral – moving your pliers along the wire in tiny steps, and making tiny bends in the wire as you go, to continue the open spiral:
Keep going till your wire looks like this:
It’s time to use your plastic, nylon, or rawhide hammer and steel jeweler’s block (or other smooth, sturdy surface) to flatten and work-harden your clasp.
This will help make the clasp stronger and sturdier.
Hammer all over one side of your wire; then turn the wire over and hammer all over the other side:
Your finished clasp should look something like this:
How to Attach the Clasp
to Other Jewelry Components:
Here’s how to connect your spiral wire hook clasp to a jump ring.
Starting at the wire end in the center of one of the clasp’s spirals, thread the jump ring onto the wire end, and begin to slide the jump ring around the spiral:
Continue sliding the jump ring around to the end of the clasp:
Your finished spiral wire hook clasp in action may look something like this:
Or this:
Want to Learn the Basics of
Designing Your Own Wire Jewelry?
In my Design and Make Artistic Jewelry Components video class, you’ll learn how to get great ideas for wire jewelry designs – and then follow my easy system for turning those ideas into successful pieces of jewelry.
By the end of this online video class, you’ll be designing and making your own artistic earwires, clasps, connectors, and pendant bails.
You’ll also learn my tips for making wire jewelry more easily, with more professional looking results.
This is so pretty! I still don’t have any wire. I do have a tutorial request though (or I’d love you to write a guest post!) on how to make your own hook and eye clasp.
Simple and yet beautiful is my opinion about Wire Hook Clasp and you have neatly defined the entire process of creating it. Many thanks as usual!
Really pretty! I love simple jewelry tutorials like this. Ive been wanting to try jewelry making but have gotten intimidated every time I try to start something
Very graceful, refreshing, pretty. thank you
Love this tutorial. I can’t imagine my jewelry without a spiral somewhere, or everywhere in the design. I like the combination of the dark chain with the bright copper spiral clasp. It looks great as a focal !
So beautiful. You illustrate so well Rena. Thank you for sharing your talent and work with us.
Simple and elegant focal spiral connector, Rena! Thanks for this tutorial and for the inspiration.
Wonderful idea, Rena! Thank you for sharing another great tutorial.
Rena, I have tried and tried to make open spirals, watching your tutorials many times to, but I cannot get it right 🙁 Do you have any suggestions, or just practice, practice, practice!
Hi Julia, can you tell me what your spirals are doing? I might be able to help you with it if you could give me some details about what happens while you’re making the spiral, and what the finished spiral looks like. Thanks! 🙂
Your wireworking class, Rena, has opened up a whole new world for me. I have been inspired over and over again. The more I do with wire the more I think of to do. Such a great start, and so well worth the money. It was a great find. Thank you so much, over and over again.
I’m so glad to hear that, Lou! That’s exactly the result I hope every student comes away with after taking the class. Thanks so much for letting me know! 🙂
I like the spiral… and what a good idea for a necklace… thank you. 🙂
Beautiful spiral wire hook clasp. Thanks for all your wonderful ideas.
Thanks to all for your lovely comments on this tutorial! I appreciate your kind words. 🙂
I really enjoy your tutorials! One of these days, I’d like to try something like this. Thank you for sharing with us!
Rena, I have many of your tutorials bookmarked. I’ll be working on this one soon, I think; it’s great.
Such a fun idea! You could use this in so many ways. Thanks for sharing.
hugs
Jann
Another great tutorial! Thanks Rena! I have been looking into making my own Spirals to hang ornaments – so will definitely try this!
Thank you, Phyllis! And what a great idea to use these hooks as ornament hangers too! 🙂
Admiro mucho a los artistas que comparten con el público su talento FELICIDADES
What I have seen in the various tutorials is a basic level of being able to do the projects but even more importantly is the use of the creative process that gives life to a series of ways to expand the design to be a spring board of many new ideas and creations influenced by the original project. Thank you Rena for your website and the influence of your creative spirit!
Thank you for your comment, Julie – I deeply appreciate it! 🙂 I do indeed hope that my basic projects are a spark for jewelry artists to envision and experiment with new things.
Hallo Rena, I just started trying to work with copper wire, but I cannot get the spiral thing down … I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. My round nose pliers mark up the wire no matter how careful I am, and I end up with jagged ugly shaped wire that is not elegantly curved like yours! It’s like when I try to curve the wire it comes out square! Any ideas to help? I’m using 16 gauge “stringing” copper wire by Bead Landing, it says “tarnish resistant”. My pliers are by Bead Landing also. Thanks so much!
Anne, try craft wire or Artistic wire in 20 gauge for practicing your spirals. Without trying to make the spiral clasp, simply cut a piece of the craft wire / Artistic wire a few inches long to practice making a spiral. Use small, gentle motions with your round nose pliers – taking tiny steps along the wire as you make your small even curves. Try to make each tiny curve the same size, and using the same strength with your pliers. My How to Make an Open Wire Spiral Video Tutorial. The more you practice with your craft wire / Artistic wire, the better your spirals will be. Once your hands learn the technique on your craft wire / Artistic wire, you can graduate to your 16 gauge copper wire. Please let me know how you’re progressing with this technique! 🙂
Hey Rena thanks for your help. I kind of did it, following your tutorial as per your suggestion, and using 20 gauge craft wire. The only thing is that my pliers marr the wire. It doesn’t matter how gentle I am, the slightest touch seems to crimp the wire! But I’ll keep practising! Thanks again! 🙂 Anne C.
Anne, so glad to hear that those tips helped, and that you’re making progress! Just keep practicing and you’ll keep getting better. 🙂