Originally Posted by
Dennis
Dear Marna,
It is permissible to use stainless steel for the pins of brooches. They don't interfere with hall marking and are so light that the weight is negligible.
1.00 mm is ideal and the trick is to make them sharp, but slightly rounded, so that they pass between the fibres and not through them.
My design below is very simple and round, so that it mitigates the tendency to hang askew.
The end of the pin is heated and quenched, to allow a small closed loop to be bent, but is immensely strong without soldering. My home made fichou joint is bent up from rectangular strip, and drilled for a stout silver rivet. The catch is made from the same stock.
The wire comes from KC Smith Ortho Ltd and comes in straight pieces: Round stainless steel wire R600H01.000L30 and cost £7.44 for a large amount including post and Vat. For felt you could use 0.80mm wire.
The length of this pin is about 40mm. A double pin would hang better, but would be awkward to use. Dennis
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