A Jewellery Maker's Essential Guide to Pliers

There are lots of different types of Pliers available for jewellery making and it can be daunting trying to decide what to buy to get started, use this guide to help you understand what they all do and then start to build your own personalised tool kit:

Round Nose Pliers

Round Nose Pliers have tapered conical jaws, they are used for forming loops with wire enabling you to connect components together and create anchor points for securely attaching findings.

Flat Nose Pliers

Flat Nose Pliers have a flat Jaw making it useful for bending angles into wire, holding beads, opening and closing jump rings and flattening out wire and crimp beads.

Chain Nose Pliers

Chain Nose Pliers have a flat jaw with a rounded outer edge and taper down toward the tip. They are a great all-rounder tool enabling you to get into small awkward spaces while still being useful for everything a Flat Nose Plier can do. Due to the curved back of the jaws, you can also use it to curve wire over and the pointed tip means you can open squashed chain links.

Bail Making Pliers

Bail Making or Looping Pliers have a stepped cylindrical jaws making it perfect for forming wirework bails or loops of different sizes. The loops can be functional or purely for decoration.

Bent Nose Pliers

Bent Nose Pliers have a flat jaw with a curved outer edge similar to a Chain Nose Plier, however the jaw itself is curved. This makes it a useful tool for wire wrapping and tucking in sharp edges that might be hard to reach with other pliers.

Flat & Round Nose Pliers

Flat & Round Pliers have one half like a Flat Nose Plier and the other half is conical like a Round Nose Plier, it is used to bend or curve wire and make jump rings, or to form sheet metal into tight circles.

Concave Wire Wrapping / Stepped Pliers

Similar to the Flat & Half Round Plier, Concave Stepped Pliers are used to bend or curve wire and make jump rings but in this instance, you have the option of three different measured sizes.

Flat & Half Round Pliers

Flat & Half Round Pliers have one half like a Flat Nose Plier and the other half has a curved inner edge and a flat underside. This is ideal for making gentle curves in wire to create Rings or shaping sheet metal.

Crimping Pliers

Crimping Pliers are designed to work with findings called Crimp Beads which are essentially tiny tubes of metal, they are then cleverly compressed in the two notches along the jaw to secure findings to the end of beading thread.

Tweezer / Needle Nose Pliers

The long narrow jaws of Tweezer or Needle Nose Pliers are useful for intricate, delicate or fiddly work where other pliers just can’t reach. Not an essential for beginners but a useful tool for a professional finish.

Cutting Pliers

Cutting Pliers are used to cut or trim wire and beading thread and are an essential tool to have in a jewellery makers tool kit. Don’t use these for cutting fibers or paper as they can blunt the blades.

Flush Cutters

Flush Cutters provide clean precision cuts to remove sharp edges in wirework and beading threads, their narrow jaws mean you can get in really close where other pliers may be too bulky to reach. Don’t use these for cutting fibers or paper as they can blunt the blades.

Memory Wire Cutters

Specifically designed to cut hardened steel such as memory wire, these cutters are more heavy duty than a lot of the others.

Nylon Jaw Pliers

Nylon Jaw Pliers are great addition to your wirework tool kit. They won’t leave any marks on the wire so you can use them to simply hold onto a piece of jewellery while manipulating it with another pair of pliers, or for bending and shaping wire and metal without the risk of damaging the surface.

Curved Nylon Jaw Pliers

Curved Nylon Jaw Pliers enable you to create gentle curves in wire and sheet metal without damaging the surface, they are a really useful tool for making rings and for bending bracelet blanks.

Banding Pliers

Banding Pliers have a channel or groove on one side and a plunger that fits inside the groove on the other, it creates a double right-angled bend which can then be placed around several other wires to bind them together​.

In conclusion, pliers are an essential tool in jewellery making, and there are many different types of pliers available for different tasks. Round nose pliers are ideal for creating loops and curves, while chain nose pliers are versatile and perfect for gripping and bending wire. Flat nose pliers are great for holding and manipulating flat components, and bent chain nose pliers provide easy access to tight spaces. Cutters are essential for cutting wire and other materials. By having a variety of pliers on hand, jewellery makers can tackle any task with ease, and create stunning pieces that showcase their skills and creativity.

Have a look at the pliers and cutters we have here:

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We hope this guide has helped! Until next time jewellery makers.

JM