Flatware Jewelry

It's really simple to make some fairly nifty jewelry out of what you've already got sitting around. For this bracelet I chose a stainless fork with some long tines and a bit of character, and then gave it a bit more. I like stainless steel because it's durable and polishes well. You can make it a bit easier to manipulate by annealing it, but I decided not to since I don't have the setup to temper it back up again. You just need to be a bit more stubborn than your materials and a bit smarter than your tools, and it should work fine ;)

Tools:

• hammer
• vise
• pliers
• drill
• Dremel tool with:
  • fine sanding disk
  • small dia high speed cutting bur
  • polishing wheel

Step 1: Get amongst it

Begin by flattening out your chosen fork with a hammer. Next, pull the middle two tines up to make it easier to cross the outside tines behind them. Do one outside tine and then roll the tip around before crossing the other side over and rolling it. When finished they should form a heart shape, you can tweak them in the vise a little to bring them closer together. 

Next, we want to bend the inside tines outwards similarly to how we bent the outside ones inwards. Curve them around the outside of the first two, and then put a little outward scroll in the tip of each one for good measure. Now congratulate yourself, the worst is over!

Comments

[Pam2]

Andrew thanks for the great tutorial! Our profiles are so similar. I loved this art form when I first saw it and went straight to EBay and ordered a 135 piece lot of silver plate flatware. It is now piled up with the supplies from my last passion. Sorry, onto my question. What is the wooden tool that is shown in the pictures? I made some really great bud vases using a spoon and a knife handle and like most of the posts I am having trouble bending fork tines for other designs that I would like to make. The tool looks like it would really help. What is it? Thanks, Pam

[andrew.spencer.2]

Hi Pam, thanks for your thoughts, I'd love to see some of the things you make. In response to your question, I didn't use any wooden tools on this build. I think you may be referring to Heraldo's photos which feature a ring clamp. Although a useful tool for holding very small items, I don't imagine it would be terribly helpful for bending. I can, however, recommend a pair of the round nose pliers you see in his first photo. I've recently treated myself to a 6" pair of them and they are much more versatile than the converted needlenose pliers featured in this instructable. Hope this helps, all the best :)

[warpling]

I'm getting ready to make this and was wondering how you got the final gold color in the photos?

[andrew.spencer.2]

I've been asked that before actually, and I'm afraid it's just the way the photo turned out due to the warm light I used, the fork is still silver colored. If you want some interesting ideas on how to actually turn it golden, scroll to the beginning of the comment thread. Thanks for looking :)

[saosport]

Thank you for making this ible it is great! I can't wait to try. Just made my day

[Heraldo]

Thanks for the great project! I had a lot of fun with it and have attached a few photos of my first completed "FORK-LET". My wife loved the gift and since it was from her Mom's silverware set, it had built in sentimental value instantly...
Thanks again for the well presented Instructable!
G

[andrew.spencer.2]

Heraldo, wow! That really looks great, you've done a marvelous job! And I really like the fork you used, way to go!

[Heraldo]

Hey, thanks Spencer! I've got a really good idea for using spoons and I think I will use an Instructable to show what it is and how to do it. I have about twenty or so projects that I need to find some time to write up, however, so don't hold your breath, haha...

[Neon Panda]

I saw something similar to this on Pintrest. They had done the bending of the prongs but cut the handle off and drilled a hole just above the prongs (the flat bit, before the handle) and attached it to a necklace and was selling them for $30. I wanted to make one but wasn't sure how to go about it.... Thanks!! : D

[ncglasslover]

thanks for thorough instructions. I have just started researching doing this and so many opinions on whether you can/should do this with stainless steel. I think I am ready to give it a try!! Thanks again.

[kathyskrafts]

This lady said to use soldering clean up to clean she said to use a old crock pot to keep it in as it disolves metal if left in it and it has to be heated so the crock pot works well http:www//jewelrymaking.about.com/od/solderinginformation/a/032806.htm
hope this helps

[Jlyn]

I've tried this with stainless steel and without annealing it, it is impossible to bend unless you are super strong. Silver plated is a tiny, tiny bit easier and sterling silver is the easiest but still really hard without heating it. Sterling silver is a bit easier but difficult to find and very expensive for one piece. To anneal the silverware you need a firebrick that you can google and buy. Torch it and then quench it. Once you quench it then you need to get the ash coloring off and you need steel wool in the lowest grit to remove it. Then you polish it. But after doing it once, I just can't keep doing it without killing my hands and wrist. Has anyone else had better luck. I love the look of your bracelet. Beautiful!

[andrew.spencer.2]

Thanks for your post, it's so great to hear from someone who has given it a go! Thanks for sharing your experiences!

[kissu2]

Simply beautiful !! U are an inspiration !

[zomfibame]

I've used flatware to make a number of artsy things, but this is really very nice. nice and a very good instructable. Thanks for posting it.

[andrew.spencer.2]

Thanks a lot for your comments, I'd love to see a few of your creations! I used to make really cute mobiles/wind chimes that looked like fish until I nearly lost a finger :( Maybe I'll revise the methods and put one more together for an 'ible

[gladdragz]

Dear Andrew,

Wow, yours is the easiest instruction ever. Think it would work with sterling? Thank you for sharing.

[andrew.spencer.2]

Thanks for the comments! Yes, I do believe people have had good success using genuine silverware, although it is much harder to find than stainless. Thanks again!

[themadjeweler]

PLEEEEEEAAAASE make an ible for the octopus one! :)

[andrew.spencer.2]

Sorry, but that's the only photo I can find of the octopus one, aside from the original design (you can even spot some differences) . I posted it to inspire people to try different designs using the tools & techniques already laid out in this instructable. Grab some pliers and some forks and give it a try, it's really just an extrapolation of the first one. Good luck :)

[TabbyDeAnne]

This is beautiful! Very creative! I think you do great work! Do you sell these? Thanks for sharing.

[andrew.spencer.2]

Thanks for the compliments! I've done the odd commission or two in the past upon request. You should give it a whirl, its easier than you think!

[Juleemt]

Totally amazing... i have few forks in here and i made a bracelet but its like... a curve fork with no movement or cuteness like yours, love the heart idea!!! Gonna do one this afternoon!! ;D

[chicopluma]

very good job, i will look for any fork that nobody will miss to try to do something like this

[nwzhnd]

Frankly I thought this was stunning. No exaggeration. And I could easily see it being wore by a male or female (of course I live on the West Coast so little things like hearts don't bother us lol).

I have a bunch of old silverware around and some Thai cutlery that I think is brass (not sure - bought a box at auction - lovely looking stuff). I wonder if anyone can give me an idea if it would be suitable for this project or if it's too soft?

You've definitely inspired me and I just might have to go on a binge of bracelet making. Might even end up at one of those craft shows if I get busy. Heaven knows I have enough silverware to outfit an army or perhaps a Woodstock Reunion. ;)

[halla]

amazing , good idea i will finish mine and submit it
thanks lots for sharing this amazing idea
god bless u

[Ward_Nox]

way nicer looking that some i've seen in the past think i'll look for soem cheap flatware to practice on

[janaro]

Hi
This is very nice work ,thank you

[dps john]

If you make a set of soft jaw covers for your vice out of copper you will not get marks in the item. this will enable you to tighten up the vice whilst forming and cut down on the amount of polishing you need to do

[andrew.spencer.2]

Thanks for your insight, I'll have to try it! I found most of the scratches came from the pliers, especially the big blue channel-locks you see in step 1. It's a fine line between squeezing too hard and leaving marks, or not squeezing hard enough and having the pliers slip and leave marks

[Nyxius]

my grandpa showed me how to use a wood block attached to the vise to prevent scratching. I used the same idea and put either rubber or cardboard U shaped piece (not corrugated) in the pliers.

[Kryptonite]

That's just awesome, I love the fact that not only is the end result super neat, it's made from a FORK! Awesome work, 5*

[KreaKatri]

Wow, this is just beautiful :)
I have made something similar, but I thought they had to be silver, which is hard to find if you don't want to pay too much, so have only made a few, and din't experiment a lot on those.
How hard is it to bend, and how much easier does it get if you anneal it first?

[andrew.spencer.2]

Thanks a lot!
Maybe I'm too rough, but I just don't have the patience (or $$) for silver. It always needs polishing and scratches too easily. Stainless IS hard to bend, but it's all about the tools & techniques. Don't be afraid to bend a tine up out of the way to make it easier to get to the one you're working on, even if you've already got the first one where you want it. They bend up/down much easier than sideways like we're doing here. Annealing stainless weakens it and makes it a mess that will be hard to clean off, especially between the tines where they cross over, so I haven't tried with forks.

[KreaKatri]

Thanks for the quick reply :)
How does annealing weaken it? So it bends out of way too easily, scratch easily, or? Is it harder to clean after annealing than silver and cobber?
Just so I get an idea of what I'm working with..

[andrew.spencer.2]

Well, I'm certainly no authority on the matter, but it's my understanding that annealing stainless makes it softer (~30% or so?) but you'll still end up with something harder than silver. But I do know that if it's done wrong, the metal can go brittle and crack instead of bend. It's no harder to clean than anything else, the Dremel will do the job fine, annealing just discolors the metal so you'll have to polish everything, not just the tines.

[dianaw]

Annealing softens the metal but then working it with hammering and using other tools hardens it again.

LOVE this idea BTW- looking forward to playing with it.

[chrisalis]

Could you elaborate on how you made your little sanding wheels for the Dremel? I bought one of these bracelets years ago at an art festival and really like it. I have a bunch of assorted old silverware (thanks to Grandma) that I can use . . . I've always wanted to try this. Thanks for the very clear instructable.

[andrew.spencer.2]

Put a square of duct tape on the back of your sandpaper, then draw a circle on the tape with a compass. Cut the circle out and skewer it all on a cutoff wheel mandrel. I think Dremel probably sells something of the sort, but they're easy enough to make on your own. Use it for getting out the deeper gouges before polishing. Good luck with the bracelet making!

[pop88]

Hello
very good idea