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Tie Tack Backs, Scatter Pins, Butterfly Clutches

Chris Hadden

Seems like it would be a simple thing to order a tie tack back, but there are points to consider. The Tack - It has a head and a nail. The head of the tack is the round disk. It is available in several diameters. 10mm is the most common but you can also get them in 4mm. If your gluing them,  a 4mm head is almost always too small to adhere well. The 4mm size is often soldered on or maybe just used with nothing on it at all, like through a folded ribbon.  There are also tacks with...

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Button Shanks, Button Covers

Chris Hadden

Button Shanks are meant to be glued or soldered on to an item, turning that item into a usable button or a decorative finding that can be sewn in place. For example, you may think that one of our cameos would make a nice button. You could glue one of the shanks to it and attach that to a sweater. You can use anything that is size appropriate. You could use semi precious stones. I have people who are glass artists buy the shanks to make glass buttons and also button collectors to repair or refurbish an antique button.  The...

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Bar Pins, Pin Findings, Brooch Pins

Chris Hadden

The quality of various bar pins, is an issue that we have gone round and round on with suppliers and customers. They all look the same, but let me just make a few observations.  Starting with very inexpensive pins. These are made from just a bent piece of metal. Something like you see on a paper name tag. Often sold under the moniker "easy lock" as they do not have the safety catch. They are indeed easy..... but can open unexpectedly at times.  Moving up to a pin with a safety clasp we can still find extremely cheap base metal...

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