Hey all!

REQUEST:
Please post photos or descriptions of necklaces that you wear or would like to wear.

consider: length, materials, style, colors, textures, weight, cost, etc.


EXPLANATION:
So I've gotten pretty heavily into making and selling necklaces in the past year. I mostly use beads (wood, stone, metal, bone, and glass), but I've recently begun getting into wirebending as well.

To be successful, I try to A) be innovative, B) keep the product reasonably priced and C) make things that people would like to wear.

And so, I want to find out more about C. What sorts of necklaces would you wear?




Much thanks from your friendly neighborhood magpie.

You said you're into wire bending a bit, not too big of a step would be chain stuff... (my favorite kind of jewelry to make, look at, and wear). Perhaps you could branch out to that. I'd pay a good $20 or $30 for a well made chain necklace. Especially if you added the cool bones and beads you always use. I made several necklaces for gift swaps in Amtgard, and chain necklaces were always received well. Here's an old one i made intending to give it to a bud, but i ended up keeping it for feast garb. Simple chain with brass and copper rings with what i think is called a mobius knot at the bottom and a little pendant i whipped up in the workshop. From what i've seen of your work, you'd be able to make stuff like this, only better.
By Poo Sorry for the crappy picture.

I know a lot of guys have problems wearing necklaces because they think they'd look girly, but i think a nice big chain always looks awesome.

Do you ever have any trouble with the links coming apart? I haven't yet worked with chain, and that's the part that has always bothered me. It looks like, with a little pressure, the whole thing will fall apart.

Though I'm sure it must not.

Can you assuage my fears?

Well, the bending of the chain work hardens the wire, so they are surprisingly resilient. With all of the rings together, it spreads the force out. This necklace is quite large gauge wire, so its not goin anywhere. I can sit here and pull on it as hard as i can. Even the copper, which is 10 gauge if i'm correct.

Alright. I'll definitely need to get some stronger wire first, but I'll try to make some like that.

Anyone else?

Whilst not being period by any means I wear my necklace when I sleep, shower, work, so naturally I wear it when I fight. Its pretty much the One Ring but in silver. It belongs to my girlfriend and she picked it up from Ren Faire a couple years ago

Are you talking about necklaces for fighting, or necklaces for feasting?

Both. Or even necklaces for mundane life, but that's not as fun.

I've got a couple sets of these

not to thread jack but did you buy or make that necklace Uargvak. the prayer beads are badass

I've managed to find a few wooden beads of that sort in $.25 machines. Though I'm sure there are better providers of higher quality ones. The ones you posted are wooden, right?

Yeah they are wooden. I purchased those. But I want to eventually make some. I just haven't had the time really.

shark teeth and red wooden beads on black string
in pattern of the banner of the Black Corsairs

So magpie, how much would it cost to have a necklace made of elephant ivory and human molars?`

I'll do it for five bucks, if you supply the materials. I'll even add in my own filler beads, string, and clasp. No questions asked as to your supplier.

I wear a Thor's Hammer for mundane, feast, and fighting. The design possibilities are endless, but they are typically a not-too-shiny gray metal with Nordic embossing or carving. Maybe throw in some runes or something. Mine is about 1.5 inches long and 1 wide, but I would probably pay $30-40 for a slight larger one for fighting. Maybe combine that with Poo's chain and I would have some cash for you.

Here are a few I have made and sold at events.

Awesome! I like the ideas and suggestions. Bronwyn, some of yours look similar to some of mine (which I've also made and sold at events).

For reference, here are some of my recent necklaces (nearly all of which are still available):

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2 ... 38&l=9d0b2

Let me know if the link doesn't work.

I'm definitely going to look into leather and chain more... I don't think I can work metal such that I can make the hammer you're looking for (yet, at least), but this is good -- I'm getting some ideas. Keep it coming, if you've got more to say.

I'm partial to puka shell chokers. Something that doesn't get me strangled.

I just finished some bone pendants... not sure what small animal jaws they are, but they work.

Sweet!

Wow Bronwyn Trea, those are nice necklaces =)

Magpie, if you want to get into some reeeeeally cheap metal casting here is your mission:

go to a pet store, preferably a minipetsmart as they have the best source. Purchase the larger pieces of cuttle-fish bone (it's for parrots, and t's actually a sephlopod[spelling?])

get some sandpaper, 160grit or up, as well as some wooden dowels, shish-ca-bob scewers, or other scratching impliments. Also, locate a source for pewter, be it a jewlery supply store/catalog or a good will where you can find those jankey old pewter/tin goblets.

next you'll have to get creative. You'll need a metal ladle, preferably a thicker guage steel but even stainless will work.

carve the negative of the piece you want into the cuttlefish, using stove-pipe wire or binding wire(just steel wire) bind it to a wood backing or a polished stone backing, or do a 2 part mold. Melt tin in ladle with camping stove, blow torch, or camp fire. Pour molten tin into pour spout.

Assuming you find cheap pewter/tin and a cheap ladle this is a 10$ project.

http://www.rotometals.com/ carries actual melting ladles, as well as tin.

This is a good start to metal casting as it's low tech, low cost, and the melting point is so low that you can pour it onto the garage floor, count to 5, and quickly press your finger into it without getting burned (note: do not try pressing your finger into molten metal).

also, since I am hastey and retarded right now:

technical description
good photos
better photos

I don't suppose you have a good, simple and cheap method for casting rings? Maybe a sand form, or something like that? I lost my wedding ring on our second wedding anniversary when on a "honeymoon" in Seasinde, Oregon, and would like to make something that is a little more "me" then a plain band. Doesn't have to be made of gold or anything like that, just needs to be something that my wife and I could do together.
Crappy thing about losing that ring; it was my father's wedding ring that my mother had made for him from a friend. Was an 18k gold band encrusted with 24k nuggets from a family friend's mine in Nome, Ak. Utterly irreplacable, and was worth $3000 in 1972, when it was made.
Words cannot describe how much that sucked!

Since magpie can use this for necklaces I'll throw it in:

You can use cuttlefish to cast rings, but you get that inherent texture, so you'd have to carve it big and file it down. Alternativly sand casting is really easy too. you won't get a super smooth finish but it's file-able. Basically you're using a mixture of super fine grain sand and a fluid to keep it together, anything from water to mineral oil to motor oil(smokes and smells awesome). you basically build two wiiden frames, fill one with sand, press your carved example(wood, hard wax, clay, anything) into the sand, dust the top with talc, put the top frame on, fill it with packed sand, carefully seperate, remove sample piece, put together and pour. don't forget a spout. Here are some decent descriptions.

Magpie, you could use this method to create a repeatable process, or near to it, with one model, might be a fun addition to your pieces.

good description with terrible drawings.

very cool descriptions and photos

super good photo walk through

good youtube demo of it, little super finicky, but this would yeild top results. I have always done the model up, not in the bottom of the frame, but this also requires you ahve a structurally sound piece so you can really press on it....

Elsewise, anything by Tim Mccreight is easy to understand, brief, and to the point. good intro book.

If anyone wants to discuss casting techniques, I know we have a few jewelrs here, start a thread and we'll all get together and answer questions.

And since I muddied up your thread with non-topic material, here are some items I think are pretty sweet.




ring lord picture forum





this next one is good, but maybe not as wide, looks like her head is stuck that way. You'd have to ask teh womenz if that would be comfortable.

Magpie y have you not posted pics of the epic necklace holder yet?!?!

The chain choker would not greatly impede the movement of her neck. Looks kinda comfy actually... It doesn't sit high enough on the neck to restrict movement, and the close weave would prevent chain-pinching-jugular action. The choker itself is not too tight, but fits the girl like a glove. Any tighter and it would restrict movement by binding the muscles, and looser and it would slide around and be uncomfortable.

Good to know. I will have to try these sometimes.

I really like what people have been posting so far!

Also, I'm really excited about those ideas for metal-casting -- I'll need to wait at least half a year before things settle down and I have a new residence and some permanent income.

Feel free to keep posting such advice though -- I don't consider it off topic at all.

Aggro - I'll post that somewhere when I get photos of it. Perhaps on my facebook page. See below.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages ... 5486901661

Only necklaces I wear are a pewter St. George or a bronze deer pendant (copied in miniature from the deer atop the Sutton Hoo scepter which was made in Ireland) I got from Raymond's Quiet Press.

also, not sure if you've done these before, but Viking style wire weaves are fun, and easy as well. (that goes for you too YAS, haha)




one not so viking weave




here are some tutorials that are decent, and close to what I was taught. Anything on a viking weave is going to be similiar though
http://www.ehow.com/how_2287900_do-viking-chain-knitting.html

and one for purchase
http://www.janra-jewelry-designs.com/viking-knitting.html

Oooooh, nice!

Is there any limit for the gauge of the wire? Or a recommended zone of gauges at least?

I couldn't tell from looking at the site quick...

Looks like it would have to be thin fine silver to bend like that. I freakin love wire weaving. Coolest thing in the world.

I've seen people get away with thicker (22 ga copper in this case, but it didn't compress well) but as far as I know it works best in the 24-28 ga range. I was always told 26 ga was the best option, not so thin as to lose the presence of the piece but not so thick as to compress irregularly or crimp. I managed to get a small section to work with anodized craft wire, but it wasnt terribly cooperative and i only got about 6inches before I lost my edge and the anodization scratched off of part. I'd say start with something cheap like 26 ga copper and practice first.

Get creative too, with this method you can string some wire with beads or even stuff the weave before you tighten it (ind you, be careful about trying to draw it through a draw plate while stuffed)

3 yr old thread