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Old 2014-11-26, 5:34pm
isaberg isaberg is offline
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Join Date: Apr 08, 2010
Location: The warmer half of MN
Posts: 155
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They are devardi presses 13,14,15, and 17. I think the one you like, CathysCreations, is #15. I made them on 24 gauge copper wire that I found at our local big box home improvement store - they didn't have any other size, but it seems to work fine. The trick is just to always keep the wire out of the direct flame. After annealing, I pickle them, either in actual pickle solution (which, I found out, isn't actually related to pickles in the slightest) or in citric acid powder mixed into water, which takes longer but is completely food-safe. Then I take some fine steel wool and polish them up - it doesn't take much.

As far as the leaves, I just take green, and lay down some glass on one side of the wire starting 1/3 inch from the end, then turn it over and lay glass on the opposite side of the wire. Then I heat it up, always avoiding the wire, and press it with devardi's Leaf Vein Masher Pliers. I heat the tip of my leaf and pull the end off with tweezers to point it. My favorite glass for leaves is Reichenbach Mystic Green.

Last edited by isaberg; 2014-11-26 at 5:40pm.
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