What property of metals allows them to be shaped into wires?

The property of metals being able to be drawn in wires is called ductility. The most ductile metal is gold. A wire of 2km can be drawn from a piece of 10g of gold. Most wire is made of killed steel, which has been de-gasified and stripped of impurities. This improves ductility.

Metals are ductile. This means they can be drawn into wires.

The atoms of metals have the ability to slide over one another. The electrons are delocalized. This means that the atoms are held together tightly but can still slide over their neighbors without losing their electrons and, therefore, do not break apart when drawn into thin wires.