A crimp bead is the tiny metal tube that holds a strung bracelet or necklace together. It is the smallest component in the piece and the one most likely to fail. When a beaded bracelet comes apart in a customer's hands, the beads almost never broke and the clasp almost never opened — the crimp let go.
This is the method we use and teach at our Las Vegas showroom. It uses a 2mm x 2mm crimp tube (CRTB2), a wire guard (WG1) to protect the beading wire where it turns against the clasp, a crimp cover (CCOV4) to finish it, a lobster clasp (C903, 15mm x 9mm), flexible beading wire, and a pair of two-step crimping pliers. Once you've done it a few times it takes about two minutes per end, and it holds far better than a knot or a crimp squashed flat with regular pliers.
What You'll Need
- Flexible beading wire — nylon-coated steel cable, not stringing cord
- CRTB2 — 2mm x 2mm crimp tubes
- WG1 — wire guards
- CCOV4 — crimp covers
- C903 — lobster clasp, 15mm x 9mm
- Two-step crimping pliers — not chain-nose pliers
- Chain-nose pliers — for closing the crimp cover
- Your beads
Crimp Tubes vs. Round Crimp Beads
Round crimp beads and crimp tubes sit side by side on most supply shelves and get treated as interchangeable. They aren't. A crimp tube has straight walls and a uniform bore, so when the pliers fold it the metal curls evenly around both strands of wire. A round crimp bead has thinner walls that distort unpredictably and is more likely to shear the wire coating or work loose over time.
For anything you intend to sell or wear regularly, use crimp tubes.
Know Your Crimping Pliers
This is the step most people skip, and it's why most crimps fail.
Two-step crimping pliers have two notches, and each does a different job in a specific order:
- Step 1 — the inner notch, closest to the fulcrum of the pliers. This crushes the crimp tube and leaves a dent down its length, folding the metal around both strands of wire.
- Step 2 — the outer notch, at the tip. This folds that dented tube in half into a neat, rounded crimp.
Step 1 first, then step 2. Using only one of them, or using them out of order, is the most common reason a crimp looks finished and fails a month later.
Step by Step
1. Thread on the crimp tube, then the clasp
Slide one CRTB2 crimp tube onto the beading wire, then add the C903 lobster clasp behind it. Leave yourself a working tail of a few inches. Nothing gets crimped yet.
2. Thread on the wire guard
Feed the wire up through one arm of the WG1 wire guard, around the curve, and back down the other side, then slide the clasp into the wire guard so it sits in the loop.
This is the part most tutorials leave out, and it's the difference between a piece that survives daily wear and one that frays. Without a wire guard the beading wire turns directly against the clasp's ring and saws against it every time the piece moves — and that's where it eventually breaks, not at the crimp.
3. Thread the wire back through the crimp tube
Take the other side of the wire and thread it back through the crimp tube in the opposite direction, so the tube now holds two parallel strands. Slide the crimp up until the wire sits snugly in the wire guard's channel with no slack, but not so tight that the guard is under tension.
4. First crimp — step 1 of the pliers
Place the crimp tube in the inner notch — step 1, closest to the fulcrum — and squeeze firmly.
The tube should come out with a clear dent running down it. Check for that dent before moving on — if it isn't there, the crimp won't hold.
5. Second crimp — step 2, rotated 90 degrees
Move the crimp to the outer notch — step 2, at the tip of the pliers — and rotate it 90 degrees so the dent you just made faces outward. Squeeze again. This folds the crimp in half along that dent.
The rotation is the part people miss. Skip it and the second squeeze just flattens the dent instead of folding along it, which is exactly how a crimp ends up looking finished and failing later.
Tug the clasp hard before you go any further. Better it fails on your bench than on a customer's wrist.
6. Add the crimp cover
Set a CCOV4 crimp cover over the finished crimp with its opening facing out.
Close it with a pair of chain-nose pliers, easing it shut rather than squashing it. The cover hides the crimp entirely and reads as a small round metal bead — the difference between a piece that looks homemade and one that looks professionally finished.
7. String your beads, then double back
Now add your beads to the beading wire. When the design is strung, thread both strands of wire back through the beads rather than trimming the tail short. Running the tail back through the first several beads adds a second layer of security and hides the wire inside the design.
8. Repeat on the other end
Finish the opposite end exactly the same way so the clasp has something to close onto, and the piece is done.
Why Crimp Beads Fail
Almost every failure traces back to one of these:
- Only one step of the pliers was used. Denting without folding, or folding without denting first, leaves a crimp that grips on one axis only.
- The crimp wasn't rotated 90 degrees between step 1 and step 2, so the second squeeze flattens the dent instead of folding along it.
- Chain-nose pliers were used to crimp. A flattened tube looks secure and isn't — it grips poorly and leaves sharp edges that cut into the wire coating. Chain-nose pliers are for the crimp cover, not the crimp.
- No wire guard. The crimp holds fine; the wire frays where it turns against the clasp.
- The tail wasn't run back through the beads, leaving the crimp as the only thing holding the piece together.
- Cheap plated crimps. A soft core under soft plating won't hold a fold. Crimps are the cheapest component in the piece and the worst place to economize.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a crimp bead used for?
A crimp bead or crimp tube secures flexible beading wire to a clasp or finding. It's compressed with crimping pliers to grip two strands of wire tightly, forming the anchor at each end of a strung bracelet or necklace.
Can you use crimp beads without crimping pliers?
You can flatten one with chain-nose pliers, but not on anything you intend to sell. A flattened crimp grips on a single axis and leaves edges that abrade the wire coating. Two-step crimping pliers are inexpensive and are the difference between a piece that lasts and one that comes back.
Why are my crimp beads not holding?
Usually because only one step of the pliers was used, or because the crimp wasn't rotated 90 degrees between the two steps. Step 1 should leave a clear dent down the tube; step 2 should fold the tube in half along that dent, with the dent facing outward. If you're skipping either, the crimp will loosen with wear.
What size crimp bead do I need?
A 2mm x 2mm crimp tube (CRTB2) suits the most common beading wire diameters and comfortably holds two strands. The tube should slide over two strands with a little room to spare — never force it.
Do I need a wire guard?
In this method, yes — the clasp attaches through the wire guard, so it isn't an optional extra. It also does real work: without one, the beading wire turns directly against the clasp and wears through over time. With one, the wire rides inside a smooth channel and the wear goes onto the guard instead.
What is a crimp cover for?
A crimp cover (CCOV4) is a split round bead that closes over a finished crimp so it looks like a small metal bead instead of a folded tube. It's cosmetic rather than structural, and it's closed with chain-nose pliers, not the crimping pliers.
How do I finish the other end of a bracelet?
Exactly the same way. Crimp tube, clasp or closing ring, wire guard, the same two-step crimp, and a crimp cover.
We stock everything used here — CRTB2 crimp tubes, WG1 wire guards, CCOV4 crimp covers, the C903 lobster clasp, and flexible beading wire — in every finish we carry, individually and at wholesale quantities. Not sure which size suits your wire? Stop by the showroom or book a Zoom appointment and we'll work through it with you.