Do sterling silver chain maille rings have to be soldered?

by Christy
(L A, CA.)

I was wondering if you have to solder sterling silver jump rings when you are making a chain maille bracelet?

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Mar 16, 2011
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Do you have to solder chain maille jump rings?
by: Vicki

You don't need to solder sterling silver chain maille rings as the tension in the wire will hold the rings in place.

Chain maille patterns usually use half hard sterling silver wire, which will retain its shape and tension very well.

Jump rings must be opened and closed correctly to ensure that they do not pull out of shape. Visit the jump rings page on this site for information regarding opening and closing rings properly.

Depending on the design of the weave, the end rings may be soldered to firmly attach a clasp or toggle. Some people like to have the clasp ends soldered for security sake.

Normally the tension in the rings is enough to hold a clasp in place.

None of my of my chain maille bracelets have solder on them and are not a problem.

The one exception may be some earring styles that use very large rings that can pull apart easily and could do with a little bit of solder to hold them in place.

For more soldering information please, visit the soldering page in the chain maille section of this site.

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