Why is a ball added to the ear wire on a French-style ear wire? Is it just decoration or is it functional?
It prevents the earring from slipping off of the earlobe.
It could be decorative. But mostly it’s functional. It prevents any dangles (held on with tiny jump rings) from sliding off. It’s a contact buffer (no sharp cut end to dig into skin or snap on clothing or hair). What it doesn’t do is stop the earring from falling out of the ear lobe.
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When I make my ear wires, I cut 2” of 20 gauge Argentium wire and the next step is to ball the ends with my PUK. It isn’t decorative, it is a way to quickly dull them so that they aren’t sharp. It is a lot faster than using a cup bur or grinding and polishing. I usually make 25 pair at a time and then tape 25 wires to a metal ruler and attach the ground strip to the ruler. Do it again and 5 minutes later they are all done…Rob
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Well, I just soldered Argentium for the first time and, after the fact, remembered that you shouldn’t move it until it has cooled down. I sometimes will reposition a piece of sterling while soldering it. Can I assume that you can’t do this with Argentium? Thanks…Rob
Rob, when Argentium is glowing, even slightly, just touching it with a soldering pick is enough to damage the piece. Ask me how I know.
The brighter Argentium glows the slushier it is. Argentium does not glow as brightly as standard sterling so I tend to work it in reduced light, especially when
soldering overlay which I typically push to the edge, fusing it as much as soldering. Thick pieces seem to hold together better than very thin pieces.
Argentium can sag at soldering temperature as well, so the piece should be well-supported.
It doesn’t take long to cool down enough for contact with a pick to be safe.
This is why I don’t use Argentium. Right now it costs $97.52. Continuum at $138.80 is much more stable and much harder than Argentium. It is way easier to work with. I don’t need the grief of the instability and need for separating the metal and the tools needed to avoid contamination with Argentium.
Jo…The only reason that I have any Argentiumin in my shop right now is to make 20 gauge 1/2 hard ear wires that don’t require any soldering or annealing. I can say to a customer that Argentium is a lot less likely to tarnish than ear wires made from Sterling Silver. I buy it at 1/2 hard. This allows me to manipulate it into an earwire shape of my design knowing that it will likely maintain that shape. My recent experience was that I needed a piece 20 gauge wire to solder on to an earring and I only had 20 gauge Argentium wire. I didn’t have the time or need to draw 18 sterling silver wire down to 20 gauge 1/2 hard wire. Using this piece of Argentium is when I was reminded that it might be a little unstable until it cooled down after soldering it to an earring. I have never used Continuum. I have read your posts regarding its characteristics and they are attractive to me. Maybe sometime in the future I will give it a try. Right now I would just like the Sterling Silver prices to stabilize. Thanks…Rob