Half round wire is often wrapped around other pieces of wire to connect them.

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However, when wire was first invented over 2,000 years BC, it was made from gold nuggets pounded into flat sheets, which were then cut into strips.

The strips were twisted and then rolled into the round shape we call wire.

This early wire, which was used in making jewelry, can be distinguished from modern wire by the spiral line along the wire created by the edges of the sheet.

In this process, a solid metal cylinder is pulled through a draw plate with holes of a defined size.

Thinner sizes of wire are made by pulling wire through successively smaller holes in the draw plate until the desired size is reached.

Today, wire is used extensively in many applications including fencing, the electronics industry, electrical distribution, and the making of wire wrapped jewelry.

Soft metals are pliable and easy to bend while hard metals are stiff and hard to bend.

The hardness of metals can be changed by annealing with heat treatment, or by work hardening a wire by bending it.

Most modern manufacturers of jewelry wire make the wire with a defined hardness, generally a hardness of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4.

Historically, these numbers were associated with the number of times that the wire was pulled through a draw plate, becoming harder or stiffer each time it was drawn through the drawplate.

A hardness of 0 meant that the wire had been drawn through only once and was as soft and as pliable as possible.

A hardness of 4 meant that the wire had been drawn through five or more times and the wire was as stiff and as hard as possible.

Most jewelry wire that is sold now is designated dead soft, half-hard, or hard, where dead soft is wire that is manufactured with a hardness of 0, half-hard is wire manufactured with a hardness of 2, and fully hardened wire is wire with a hardness of 4.

It can be easily bent and is excellent for making rounded shapes such as spirals.

It is also excellent for wrapping wire around beads to make them look as though they are encased.

The disadvantage of using soft wire is that the finished piece can be bent out of shape if not properly handled.

Half-hard wire is excellent for making tight, angular bends, for making loops in wire, and for wrapping wire around itself.

Pieces made with hard wire have the advantage that they are not easily accidentally deformed.

Soft wire is easy to bend and shape, but the finished product may be bent out of shape if squeezed.

Wire-wrapped jewelry can be made by wire which is initially soft, simplifying fabrication, but later hardened by hammering or by work hardening.

Advances in technology now allow the manufacture of jewelry wire with different cross-sectional shapes, including circular, square, and half-round.

Hole Size For 30 Awg Wire