Needle Nose Pliers

 Looking at the tools list for jewelry making, you'd think you were going to make something heavy-duty. Most of the tools are pliers, but, unlike the tools you are probably used to, these pliers are very small (normally shorter than 5".) They are spring loaded for the most part, and that makes them easier to work with. They come in several sizes, and are easy to find with a colored grip on the handles. Today I'm going to talk about the different types of pliers, and, more importantly, what they are used for in jewelry making.

Needle Nosed Pliers

Needle nosed pliers, otherwise known as chain Needle Nose Pliers  nosed pliers, are used for quite a few things. You can use them to grip pieces as you work on them, bend wires, crush crimp beads if you don't have crimping pliers (this is how I started) and many other things. They are basically your normal, everyday pliers in a smaller form.

Round Nosed Pliers

Round nosed pliers look like a regular pair of pliers, excepting that the jaws (which are the parts you use to grab things) are round. They are thick where they are attached to the base, and narrow out as they get longer. The most common thing that these round nosed pliers are used for are to bend wire into loops. If you are at any time going to want to make earrings, these basic pliers are a necessity.

Wire Cutters

Though these are not specifically pliers, they are often thought of as so in jewelry making. You will need these no matter what you are going to be making. You can choose yourself whether you want the basic side cutters or the fine cutters. The fine cutters are probably more convenient, since you can get into smaller spaces to trim your wire, but on the down side, many of the plier sets they sell include side cutters, not fine cutters.

Crimping Pliers

Crimping pliers are not a necessity, but they do improve the quality and professional look of the beaded piece. While you can use your needle nosed pliers to crush the crimp beads, crimping pliers make the crushed bead look like a bead instead of flattened mess. The crimping pliers have two spaces, the first one crushes the crimp into a crescent shape, while the second one crimps it into a small bead shape. They are easy to use and most have holes big enough to crimp the two most common sizes.

Split Ring Pliers

Split ring pliers are also not a necessity, but they do make it a little easier to use split rings. You have most likely used split rings before, even if you haven't been making jewelry (your keyring is a giant split ring.) Have you ever found that you can't thread one of your keys on your ring very easily? This tool holds the ring open while you thread whatever you like on it (charms, beads, etc.) It really makes using split rings easier!

Bent Nosed Pliers

Basically bent nosed pliers are regular needle nosed pliers with the tips of their jaws bent into a 45 degree angle. These make it really easy to grab small beads, or to get into tight spaces. You can do what these pliers to with a regular pair of needle nosed pliers, it just takes more work. It you want to make jewelry professionally, however, I would highly recommend investing in a pair. They are not very expensive, they just make it that much easier to get into tight spaces.