Make a safety pin from a paperclip!

out of safety pins ? grab a paperclip and a needle nose pliers!
I'll show you how you can make a simple and reliable safety pin from a regular office paperclip.
you don't have to use pliers , you can do it with scissors or a ruler!

lets start!

Step 1: Bending the paperclip

first straighten the paperclip , then use the pliers to bend the paperclip to form the wanted shape - like in the picture.
watch the video to see exactly how to do it.

Comments

[cdousley]

cool aybe if you cut it diagonal it would be sharp

[charge11595]

 nice instructable! maybe you could find a way to sharpen the end...
btw, great photos

[thing 2]

KEWL:)

[carver]

this is really awesome.to make it sharp just grind it. i dont know if u put that tip in there or not.

[Top Dog]

Yeah, it can. I made it and cliped my jeans. You just have to push a little hard. Apparantly doggy, is not strong enough.

[bad_dog]

gr8 idea but it cant peirce a pair of jeans

[hidethecake]

You can poke a hole in the jeans with a pen or pencil. Or a safety pin!

[Doctor What]

Great Idea!!! Too bad they don't allow needlenose pliers at school.

[MrRedBeard]

Sweet if my pants zipper ever breaks at the office I won't have to worry about not having a safety pin.

[cubemonkey]

That was super easy, and now I'm mad that I never thought of it before.

[Chris Bilton]

yea, this is a classic, anything that takes just two minutes has my vote.

[!Andrew_Modder!]

thats great! but not sharp tipped :-(. yeah i no you could file it down.. but cmon

[WurdBendur]

I suggest cutting the end to make it sharp. It won't be a point, though, more like a wedge, (maybe you could cut it again the other way and make it pointy). Also, maybe you could sand it to a point, but by then you might as well just buy safety pins.

[jongscx]

if you cut it with a sharp pair of cutters, the tip can be just as razor sharp as a needle (personal experience)

[WurdBendur]

Of course it will. That's why I suggested it. I just note that it will be squashed flat, so it will have an edge rather than a point and may not poke through your clothes very easily.

[jongscx]

Oh, Do you mean cutting it at a right angle to the pin? like ===| |=== ?

Cut it at an angle... kind like ===/ /=== only a steeper angle... AND you're using a decent pair of angle cutters, pliers, anything where two wedges clamping together (don't use shears, it will come out wonky)... you will come out with Two sharp points (one on the piece you want to keep, the other on the waste piece)

[WurdBendur]

Oh, I see. Yes, I was thinking of cutting perpendicular to the pin, but I see that cutting at an angle would work better.

[jongscx]

yeah, I was working with a power cable with a 10ga stranded wire... I found a 2" gash on the side of my hand that kinda hurt... turns out, it was a paper-cut like gash, no blood, but it was pretty close. Yup, it's sharp.

[pocketwatch]

Thanks! I suggest not cutting the end to make it sharp. On thin fabric and fabric with a loose weave it should go through perfectly well, and a self sharpened paper clip seems minimally safe.

[TraumaComet]

fantastic! I made like, 8 thousand of these at the office today. (I really hope my boss doesn't read this)

[fredgilman]

Very clever!

[gamer]

one more use on my "paperclip use list"! very nice. -gamer

[Mr Tenacious]

Great idea, and quite easy too, how long did it take you to design it?

[its a lion]

very nice. never thought about using one, but now that i know i can... thanks.

[siobhan]

Seriously, fantastic. I've been looking for coil-less safety pins for knitting - this is a perfect mod that I can make without the coil. I can't believe I never thought of this. Nice work!

[Shark500]

this is awesome.

[Karel Jansens]

Excellent! Simple and useful, what more does one want?

[isr_Raviv]

Thanks! i'm glad you like it... Raviv

[Weissensteinburg]

Great idea, this could be REALLY useful!