If you get leds from some unknown place and are not sure of their specs, you can always do this.
Grab a pack of misc resistors from radio shack. They usually range from 1ohm all the way up to 100k ohm
Start at about 10k, and work your way down from there. At 10k ohm, most 3-12vdc leds won't light, but you won't blow them either.
Starting around 600 to 1k ohm, they'll start lighting but be very dim.
Once it's reasonably bright, you should be good. Go too low with the resistor though, and you'll blow the LED.
Alternately, use a Voltmeter to measure the forward voltage of the LED, and then use calculate saint mentioned. It's esp handy if you have several LEDs you want to light simultaneously.