Guide wires including a guide wire tip portion including a distal tip portion and a proximal tip portion, where the tip portion includes a circular cross-section and substantially constant diameter along both a linear elastic distal tip portion and a superelastic proximal tip portion. Methods for manufacture include providing a superelastic wire (e.g., nitinol) including a length so as to define both a distal tip portion and a proximal tip portion. The distal tip portion is cold worked, without imparting significant cold work to the proximal tip portion, to provide linear elastic properties within the distal tip portion, while the proximal tip portion maintains superelastic properties. The tip portion is ground or otherwise reduced in cross-sectional thickness after cold working of the distal tip portion, so as to provide a circular cross-section having a desired substantially constant diameter along both the distal tip portion and the proximal tip portion.
