Stephen Shepherd
I learned wire inlay from a gunsmith, the 'chisels' are made from broken pieces of hack saw blade, one broken end is rounded over and the other end is sharpened to a point. It is also possible to make them curved by bending and filing the end. I have 5 or 6 different shapes and widths.

Then simply pound the blades into the wood along the pattern making a small recess without removing any wood. I then prepare thin, less than 1/8" wide strips of silver sheet the thickness of the wire inlay. I think it should be called silver ribbon inlay. Bend the pieces of silver ribbon to the shape, etch with garlic and apply hide glue before pounding it down into the groove edgewise until it is nearly flush. Then scrape off the excess silver, saving the scraps.

Stephen