Pure Niobium Wire, 20 gauge (.031"dia/.8mm/20ga AWG), 5ft, Half-Hard, Unannealed

Description

Each sealed package contains a minimum of 5-feet (one continuous 60 inch minimum material length coil) of Pure Niobium wire in 20 Guage AWG (.031 inch diameter / .8 mm / 20ga in the American Wire Gauge standard). It was manufactured in March of 2016 to the following rigid specifications: ASTM-B392, R04210. Material test reports are available upon request.
The temper is UNANNEALED. Meaning, it has not been softened by annealing at the mill and is comparable to HALF-HARD. It is flexible enough to be bent into shape by hand, yet stiff enough to hold its shape after forming. In other words, you can form a pair of earwires by manually bending the wire around a pencil, pen, sharpie marker or jewelry mandrel, without undue stress on your hands, yet it is stiff enough to hold its shape during normal use. (By comparison, Annealed wire is known as full-soft, or dead soft, meaning it would require hardening by tumbling or other wire hardening methods, to hold its shape after forming).
DIY EARWIRES::: HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN EARRINGS
It's easy to make your own custom size pierced ear-wires for earrings. Cut a 4-inch piece of wire (or longer for larger hoop-type earrings). Fold it in half. Use wire cutters to trim the ends so they are the same length. Bend it around a mandrel of your desired size, such as a pen, pencil, or large sharpie marker.  Use round-nose pliers to create a small loop at the cut end.  Now cut off the folded edge. You can use a metal nail file (or even an old emery board with a little extra effort) to smooth away any sharp cut edges. Attach your dangles or beads (or existing earrings if you are replacing old irritating metal earwires) to the small loop.  Now you have 2 identical ear wires, made out of the most exotic, rare, gorgeous, and biologically safe metal in the world. NIOBIUM, the best friend of sensitive skin.
OTHER USES
In addition to body-piercing and decorative color anodizing for any kind of jewelry, Niobium is also commonly used in the dental industry for orthodontic arch wires and many other biomedical applications.
ABOUT THIS ITEM
~ Niobium metal is physiologically inert, making it 100% safe for use in the human body. (It is even used in medical devices such as pacemakers.) Niobium by its very nature is PURE, meaning it is not an alloy, or mixture, of other metals. Niobium is beyond hypoallergenic, it is NON-allergenic. It does not react to body temperatures or moisture. You can swim and shower, and even sleep with Niobium metal in your piercings.
~ Shiny, smooth finish. Niobium is even more gentle in piercings than titanium because of its smooth finish. (Titanium has a slightly abrasive finish). Niobium surpasses all other metals in terms of bio-compatibility. Even people who have reactions to Gold can wear Niobium in their piercings.
~ 20 gauge(.031 inch diameter). This is the most popular thickness for earring ear wire construction, as it fits comfortably in the majority of ear piercings. (The second most common size is 21 gauge (.028 inch dia) - for those that have smaller piercings. 21 gauge is coming soon to our inventory - please inquire as to availability. The next most popular size is 19 gauge (.036 inch diameter), for people with larger diameter ear piercings. If you are interested in this size - or any others - just let us know so we can stock it for you.)
~ Unannealed temper. Unannealed is an excellent temper (hardness) for both manual and machine construction of jewelry findings: its medium-hardness is flexible enough to form by hand, yet stiff enough to hold its shape after forming. If desired, Niobium wire can be made even stiffer by work-hardening, using typical methods such as straightening, tumbling or hammering. Anything you can do with precious metal wire, or even craft wire, you can do with Niobium. Please note: Niobium takes longer to work-harden than other metals.
~ Color: Niobium metal in its natural state is a beautiful lustrous dark silver color. The color within a length of any given 5-foot piece may vary slightly from light to dark or shiny to very shiny. This is a normal variation within the product. The changes are subtle and gradient in nature.
SHIPPING
DOMESTIC SHIPPING: I offer FREE First Class shipping to all Domestic locations (USA and territories). Expedited shipping goes out in a USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope for the current rate (I do not charge extra for handling, just the exact postage USPS charges me). Many packages of Niobium wire can fit into one Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope - I will combine them so you only pay one flat rate shipping charge no matter how many you order.
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING: I offer shipping to most international destinations through the eBay Global Shipping program. There are additional costs for shipping and handling customs, paperwork, taxes, export fees, and so forth that vary depending on your location.
ABOUT ME
I offer stocking programs for all your Niobium and other metal needs. Specialty metals and odd sizes are no problem. Please contact me with your requirements. I  am flexible, friendly and 100% customer focused!
NIOBIUM
Size: .031" diameter
Size tolerance: +/- .001"
Color: Natural (Unanodized)
Temper: Unannealed (similar to half hard)
Specifications: ASTM B 392, R0210 Type 2
Melting Point: 2468 degrees Celsius / 4379 degrees Fahrenheit
Atomic Number: 41
Atomic Weight: 92.91
Density: 8.51
Solubility in H20: Insoluble
Crystal Structure: body-centered cubic
Alternate names: Nb, Columbium, Element 41
Standards and Averages for Niobium
Brinell Hardness: 125 BHN avg.
Ultimate Tensile Strength, psi: 18 KSI min
Yield Strength (0.2% offset): 10.5 KSI min
USES: ear wires, jewelry, body piercing, dental, medical implants, aerospace, automotive, superconducting magnets, MRI scanners, heat resistant equipment, electroceramics, hypoallergenic applications, numismatics, and many more!