Bead Stopper

As some of you may know, my adventures in jewelry making started with simple beading. I wish I would have found something like the Bead Stoppers I bought from Fire Mountain Gems back then. I say like, because I was not happy with these. Sorry FM, but these are going to be the first product that gets a thumbs down.

While the idea is good, the product doesn’t seem to be sturdy enough. The only time it worked was if I was using very lightweight beads on a single strand. It seems like every time I picked up the necklace to check the length, the stoppers would fail and I’d drop the whole thing.

Another problem I had with these was that they left marks on the wire. Since it was going to be covered with the beads, it wasn’t a big deal. If you’re doing any work where the wire will be left exposed, this is not a good thing.

It’s kind of hard to see in these pics, but all the white specs on the wire are where it kinked the wire.

Before I bought these, I was using binder clips from the office supply store. I think I will stick to those. They have more tension and don’t leave marks on the wire.

They have another item, the Bead Bug, have any of you tried that? Does it work any better?

For its lack of strength and it leaving marks on the wire, I’m going to have to give this a thumbs down.