There are loads of different types of clasps out there, one to suit every jewellery piece, one for every occasion and one for every wrist. Some can be harder to work than others, while some have benefits that you may not have thought of before.
Time to have a look at the sturdy Shackle Clasps!
Shackle Clasps
A shackle clasp is, more often than not, any given D-shackle hardware that’s repurposed as a clasp for jewellery. It’s pretty hardcore as far as clasps go – these do not give easily and can be a bit of a mission to close and open again. Most shackle clasps you’ll see are made up of a D-shaped piece of metal with holes at the ends and a round bar that screws in through those holes to create a very secure seal. All the shackle clasps I use in my pieces are stainless steel and will hold up to most kinds of abuse a piece of jewellery may go through in its lifetime.
Benefits
-Secure
A shackle clasp is nothing if not secure. These clasps are usually used for semi-permanent jewellery pieces, i.e. pieces that will rarely, if ever, be taken off the body. Once the bar is screwed in, it takes a certain bit of strength to open it up again – not unreasonable amounts but still enough that it doesn’t happen by accident.
-Unique appearance
Wearing a D-shackle as part of your jewellery is sure to make a statement. It’s pretty unusual and if you’re going for a certain look, e.g. punk, metal, gothic subculture styles, it can pull an otherwise subdued outfit right into the centre of attention.
-Heirloom in the making
Shackle clasps are solid stainless steel (at least the ones I use!), which means they’re likely to outlast us all. Long after other clasps have broken, fallen apart, or fallen off and got lost, the shackle clasps will still hang there, strong as ever. Some of them may even outlast the pieces they’re attached to – I of course make everything to a very high quality standard but when the rings making up a piece are 1.6mm diameter wire and the shackle is 4mm+ in diameter, well, you can imagine!
Downsides
-Difficult to work
The main downside to the shackle clasps is that they can be a b*st*rd to work, especially with one hand for a bracelet clasp. The bar needs to line up with the holes and then be screwed in until secure, which sounds a lot easier than the actual process. If you have any dexterity issues in your fingers then this may not be the clasp for you. This is also why I generally recommend this clasp for semi-permanent pieces – that way there is less need to open and close it all the time.
-The bar can be dropped and lost
I generally attach the shackle bar to the D-shaped piece with a small chain to keep them together, so this would normally not be an issue unless you specifically want it without that chain. In my testing of these types of clasps I realised it’s pretty much the easiest thing on earth to drop the bar when trying to open or close them. The bar is fair-sized as far as finding things on the floor goes, but after bending down to pick it up five times in a row it does start to get a bit old…
In the next post in this series I will be looking at Speciality Clasps. Follow my Facebook Page – Destai Designs & Entangled – for updates about new blog posts as well as loads of other good stuff.
I hope this has been informative and an interesting read. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll get back to you soon. If you’re thinking of ordering, custom or not, head on over to the Custom Order page or the Shop respectively.
Much love to all, and Be Proud. Be You.
