How to Make a Wire-Wrapped Crystal Sword Pendant

I'm going to show you how I made this little sword pendant with Swarovski crystals set into the blade. It's all wire-wrapped, no soldering needed. If you can bend wire and wrap coils, you can make this.

For the frame:

• 12 inches of 16 gauge round dead soft copper wire
• 5 inches of 16 gauge round wire (for the center piece)

For the crystal settings:

• 3 pieces of 18 gauge half round wire, each 4.5 inches long
• 4mm Swarovski flatback crystals (3 total)

For the wrapping:

• 22 gauge half round wire, about 20 inches long
• 18 gauge half round wire, 6.5 inches long (for the guard)
• 18 gauge half round wire, 6.5-7 inches long (for the grip)

Tools:

• Flat nose pliers
• Bailing pliers
• Chain nose pliers
• Metal file and fine sandpaper
• Hammer and bench block
• Wire cutters
• Blue painter's tape

1. Shape the Blade Frame

Find the center of your 12-inch piece of 16 gauge wire. Use your flat nose pliers to bend it at the center, then gently squeeze the wire to close it in on itself. This creates the point of your blade.

Hold the tip and separate the two wires just a bit. Use the very tip of your pliers to add a slight bend, bringing the wires back closer together. This gives you more of a blade shape at the point.

2. Form the Guard and Handle

Make 90° bends on each side for the guard. Then use your flat nose pliers to add another 90° bend on each side. Switch to bailing pliers to finish shaping each side of the guard.

Make two more 90° bends to complete the overall sword shape.

3. Add the Center Wire

Take your 5-inch piece of 16 gauge wire and place it in the center of the frame. This fills in the blade area where the crystals will sit.

4. Hammer the Frame

Start hammering at the point of the sword and work your way up the blade. Hammer the guard too, but stop before the grip — you need that part flexible so you can bend it into the bail later. Hammer about the bottom inch and a half of your center wire as well.

Smooth everything out with a metal file and fine sandpaper.

5. Secure the Frame with Tape

Use blue painter's tape on the top and bottom of the frame to hold everything together for the next steps.

6. Start Wrapping the Frame

Take your 22 gauge half round wire (about 20 inches long) with the flat side facing down. Start attaching it with a coil, then begin coiling around all three wires. Take your time and gently squeeze each coil with your pliers as you go.

7. Add the Crystal Setting Wires

Once the 22 gauge wire is started around the frame, add your three pieces of 18 gauge half round wire. These hold the crystals. Keep the flat side facing down and hold them to the frame with your thumb and forefinger as you continue coiling the 22 gauge wire around them.

Coil around four times, then crisscross your wires around the center. Pull the two top wires up out of the way, cross them over each other, then coil around them twice. Bring the top wires up again and keep coiling five or six more times.

8. Set the Crystals

Gently shape the two top wires so they'll fit the rounded top of a crystal. Bend them like that, then come in from the top and gently tweak them in towards each other.

Add your first 4mm crystal. Hold it down with your thumb and use chain nose pliers to gently shape the 18 gauge wires down around it. Coil twice, bring the top wires back up, and gently move them back and forth a few times — this tightens them around the crystal.

Repeat for the other two crystals.

9. Finish the Bottom

Wrap a few more coils at the bottom, crisscross your wires on the top again, coil twice more, then snip off all wires and tuck the ends in the back.

10. Wrap the Guard and Grip

Snip the two wires at the guard. Use the 6.5-inch piece of 18 gauge half round wire to wrap the guard, and the 6.5-7 inch piece for the grip.

11. Shape the Bail

Bend the grip section into a bail shape that mimics a knuckle guard. Attach it to the guard.

12. Oxidize

Apply liver of sulfur or your preferred patina solution to darken the copper. Buff the high spots to bring out the detail.

I made a couple other versions of this. You can go smaller with the design. For a real challenge, make them earring-sized. For those I used 19 gauge square wire for the frame with 20 gauge half round wire to hold 2mm crystals. I still used 22 gauge half round for the rest, but for the guard I switched to 28 gauge round wire.