The jewelry wire cutters that we use for all of our jewelry making projects are called "Flush Cutters".  These cutters are specifically designed for jewelry and wire working projects to make a cut that leaves one side of the cut wire relatively flat or flush and the other side relatively sharp.  The cutters are designed to be used with the flat side of the cutters perpendicular to the wire to be cut and the beveled side of the cutters provides the sharp edge necessary to cut.  The perpendicular or flat side of the flush cutter will cut jewelry wire and leave a relatively flat end on the wire at that side.  The beveled side of the flush cutter will leave the cut wire with a sharp end.  Try cutting a piece of wire and see the two cut ends to understand this better.

Flat Side of Flush Cutter	Beveled Side of Flush Cutter

For your jewelry making and wire projects always cut the wire so that the flat side of the cut wire remains on the finished piece.  This is important so that the finished component won't have any sharp ends to snag or cut.  This is accomplished by cutting with the flat side of the flush cutter toward the finished piece.  As shown here, here are pictures showing how to hold your flush cutter when cutting wire. 

Cutting Wire	After the Cut

Finally, the flush cutters are designed for cutting "jewelry wire".  This is sterling silver, gold-filled, gold, brass or copper wire.  They are not designed to cut steel in any form and may be ruined if they are used to cut steel, including the Soft Flex or Tiger Tail bead stringing wire and/or memory wire. 

Safety Tip #1:  Always hold both ends of the wire as you cut it.  When the cut is made, the loose end of the wire tends to fly.  It can be a hazard to your eyes and it can be a hazard to your back as you crawl around on the floor trying to find the wire and pick it up.  Wearing safety glasses when jewelry making is often recommended, but it is safer still to make sure the loose end of the wire can not become a missile hazard. 

Safety Tip #2:  A good habit to have, is when you are cutting wire from a coil or spool to cut it so that the flat side of the cut remains on the spool or coil of wire.  This way the shorter wire segment that you work with will always have one sharp end and one flat end.  In addition, the wire on the spool with have a flat end so it will be less likely to hurt anyone who picks up that spool later. 

Safety Tip #3:  Flush cutters can be sharp and may not be suitable for young children.  Jewelry making is probably not appropriate for young children.

Published with the permission of www.wigjig.com