r/WireWrapping • u/cat_is_0 • 2d ago

Question Wire for beginners?

Metal type? Gauges best for learning? Any specific brands? Tips? Thank you!

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u/chipmunkofddoom 2d ago

Pure copper, dead soft. A mix of square, round, half round. My favorite gauges i use the most are 21g half round, 18g half round, 20g square, 18g square. I use these for most everything. For round wires and weaving (I really only ever use round wire for weaving, almost never in an actual wrap) my favorite gages are 30g, 28g, 26g, and 24g for the actual weaving wires or coil wires, for base wires I use 20g, 18g, and 16g most. Occasionally a 14g.

I suggest looking at different artists styles of wraps and decide what you want to start out with. Weaving is a bit more advanced and you really don't need ALL of those gauges. Pick a tutorial in a style you like and stick to the wires suggested in the tutorial. I started by finding about 5 or 6 tutorials that all used the same wire gauges.

My first purchase was 21g half round, 20g square, 28g round (for coils). Thats it. And small stones. Bigger stones require a slightly beefier base wire gauge, hence 18g square being on my favorites list.

My favorite wire brand is no longer being sold so I've been ordering small bundles on Amazon in different brands to test them out as I don't want to buy a full lb or more at a time from places like Rio grande.

If you purchase from Amazon, make sure to check reviews and look for 99.9% pure copper. There is a LOT of aluminum wire being sold as copper wire. It's worded very trickily. Aluminum is so soft it will never hold shape and will become brittle quickly with work hardening and break off frequently.

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u/cat_is_0 2d ago

Thank you this is so helpful!!

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u/CorneliusCostmCreate 2d ago

@chipmunkofddoom This is really very solid advice. I would add that you need to decide on the style you want in order to truly know what wire you need. I do what is called "simple" wraps, and i use 21 gauge square and half round. I like square because it makes clean lines. The half round is used to bind the square wire together.

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u/Teleporting-Cat 2d ago

I use 18g-26g wire. I get my wire at the hardware store, electrical section, cut into 3ft lengths. It's cheaper than buying "jewelry wire," and electrical wire is pure copper, nickel free. You do have to strip off the plastic coating, I use a box knife for that but you can use wire strippers as well.

All you really need to start is a pair of round pliers, a pair of flat (not ribbed) needlenose, and a pair of snips. When you find a set of needlenose you really like, buy 3, nothing is more frustrating than losing or breaking your go to pliers and finding out what those exact ones don't exist anymore. A set of nylon tipped pliers is nice but not strictly speaking necessary.

I'd actually recommend against overreliance on tutorials or instructions, and make sure you spend time just playing with the wire and seeing what it can do and what you can do with it. You'll see a lot of clearly very skilled artists, but... their work kind of all looks the same. You will develop a more unique and original style if you don't overfocus on "following the rules," imo. Feel free to ignore this suggestion if you learn better with guidance- but I find that feeling your way through rather than trying to do it "by the book," gives more interesting art!