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History Part Three: Silver Chains

by Laurie Jane Kern on April 30, 2009

Part One was about Rocks making cabs
Part Two was about learning to wire wrap
So now, in Part Three I will tell you about my discovery of chains and my start of working in Silver

Again it was late 2008 and I had made a few wire wrap pendants and I went shopping for a chain. I have to admit that I only looked in a few local jewelry (i.e. mall) stores. I was not finding what I wanted but I eventually found a chain that would do. At this moment I was not even thinking of going down the path I am currently following.

My husband and I then went to the annual San Diego “Gem Diego”. It was there that I saw a display of chains. Of course there was some chain maille items but there were other chains as well. And the person who had done the display was giving a demo of chain maille. I now know that it was Paul Kloppenborg.

I fell in love! My husband, said “go for it”

[Side Note 1: I have been into swords and armour from Japan and the Medieval period for a long time. I was a rather good fencer as well in my younger days.]

I did know that the Palomar Club, also had some silver classes. I checked into it and found that they would be starting class again after the first of the year, as it was now the holiday season. So while I waited I went online and ordered some pre-cut links and started to learn some basic chain maille weaves.

Fast forward through Turkey Day, Hanuka, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Years….and any other celebration I might have missed

In mid-January, the first silver class of the new year was announced. It was a basic class to learn soldering and we would make a simple bracelet with little wire hearts made from rings, with other circular rings connecting them. I was there! [Side Note 2: I spent two summers working as an welder but that was almost 30 years ago so I was a bit rusty with my torch skills, but it is like a bicycle, you never really forget]

Here is a picture of that bracelet.

I have now made and either given them as presents or sold 5. I have taken the idea and made earrings and I have made a larger necklace/chain.

I am currently working my way through the book “Making Silver Chains”… by Glen F. Waszek.

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History - Part Two : Wire Wrap

by Laurie Jane Kern on April 15, 2009

As I explained in Part One (read it here) Obi-Wan-Don taught me how to cut, grind, and polish cabs. I had become a cab producing fool, as I now had all of these cabs  and nothing to do with them and looking at them can only get you so far.

Obi-Wan’s wife Bonnie is an expert wire wrap artist and was going to be teaching a class down at the Fallbrook Club, so of course I signed up (it was October of 2008).  I purchased a basic pliers set and in the
class Bonnie had the other items we would need.

I made one wire wrap pendant. Go ahead and laugh!

I like the stone but the curly-q’s are a bit much. I think I will keep this one FOREVER just to show how far I have come.

I also purchased some extra wire so I could make a few more. I then made these:

I have now made over 30 wire wrap pendants, I have sold 3 pendants, given 3 pendants as presents, and for my personal collection I have 5 which I wear.

The remaining I am hoping to sell (eventually) at the club’s October show.

Next I will tell you how I had to make chains so I can have the pendants to hang on.
See, first cabs, then making pendants, then chains… Personally I think it was a plan of Obi-Wan-Don to take me to the Silver Side

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History - Part One : ROCKS

by Laurie Jane Kern on April 2, 2009

I have always liked rocks and I am not talking specifically about sparkly stones such as diamond or other such items. I am talking about tigers eye, pyrite cubes, geodes, quartz, malachite.

Then I discovered AGATES.

AND then I discovered AGATE SLABS!!!

I was gathering quite a collection of slab rough when I finally went looking on ebay and bought a small flat lap machine that has a 6″ diameter wheel. I had been playing with it on and off for a year, starting in 2007.  I had polished a few agates but not really made any cab’s.

In early 2008 a friend of ours who we met in our Gem & Mineral club offered to teach me how to make cabs. SO on a Sunday afternoon in September, I went over with a few pieces of rough. Obi-wan Don, as he shall now be called showed me how to cut an oval, circle, tear drop and triangle out of my rough. Then it was off to the 6 station cabbing grinder he has.  Obi-wan walked me through 2 cabs, across the six stations. He then left to go watch a football game (it was a Sunday!).

Three hours later I went back inside with my 4 other finished cabs. Yes there was a flat spot in one, the slope was not even across the cab on another but I had made 6 cabs in 5 hours. Obi-wan said I did very good and the next time would be better.

Here is a picture of one of those cabs.  Obi-wan Don’s wife taught me to do wire wrapping a few weeks later so the second picture is of the final pendant.

I can now make a cab in about an hour… and now that I have all these cab’s the question was “What will I do with them all?”

Ocean Jasper Cab
Ocean Jasper Cab set in wire

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