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See? A crimp!!
Crimping Tutorials abound on the internet. There are a zillion of them that will show you how to crimp, using pliers. But, I discovered when I was teaching crimping to students at bead shows, that seeing exactly what a properly closed crimp was supposed to look like was difficult.
A properly closed crimp has two channels, one on either side of the bend in the crimp tube. The doubled wire ends run through those channels, separated for the greatest amount of holding power. But, have you ever tired to "see" it when you don't know what it's supposed to look like?
So, the other day, we made a series demo pictures, so that each instruction is illustrated in a way one can SEE it.
Photo one illustrates the instruction: Push wire through the crimp tube and through the finding to be attached.
Photo Two illustrates the instruction: Take the end of the wire back through tube, thus catching the finding in the resulting loop. See, how the loop is formed around the brass finding and the ends of the wire exit the tube?
Photo three illustrates how the crimp tube should look after it has been placed in the first station of the crimp pliers and gently squeezed. Notice that both ends of the wire are resting, separated, in different channels. 
And Photo Four illustrates how a properly closed crimp should look before it's been carefull shaped. Each strand of the wire is captured securely in its own channel. The bend is tight, and the wire is permanently in the crimp. Gentle shaping is all that is left.
Of course, I know that the crimp tube in this tutorial is a toilet tissue roll, and I am aware that the wire is a bolo cord. AND the brass finding is the bottom of a bead ornament stand! Fun, huh?
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