You should be able to find all of these tools at your local craft store, hobby store, or at your favorite online jewelry crafting supply store. Please don’t just go for cheap tools. It has been my experience that if you spend a little money on your tools, you will avoid excessive tarnishing, unwanted pinching and gouging, and they will last a lot longer. Quality is better and will make your jewelry even more beautiful.
- Round-Nose Pliers
- Chain-Nose Pliers
- Flush-Cut Pliers
- Bent-Nose Pliers
- Flat-Nose Pliers
- Crimping Pliers
- End-Cutting Nippers
- Wire-Wrapping Pliers
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| Round-Nose Pliers |
These pliers are characterized by their round, tapered jaws. They are a must-have for jewelry making. They are useful for creating loops, spirals, earring hooks, etc. They are also sometimes referred to as needle-nose pliers (although they are not the same as the kind you get from the hardware store), or blunt-nose pliers.
When turned into a multi-tool paired with wire cutters, they are referred to as Rosary pliers.
When turned into a multi-tool paired with wire cutters, they are referred to as Rosary pliers.
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| Chain-Nose Pliers |
These pliers are characterized by their smooth, straight jaws and are generally used for gripping, bending, or holding wire. These are also a must-have when getting started in Jewelry making. This is the tool you will probably use the most when creating your works of art. They are also referred to as long-nose, short-nose, and needle-nose pliers and are similar to those that you would buy at the hardware store. However, Chain-Nose pliers for making Jewelry are much more smooth in order to prevent scraping or tarnishing of your jewelry pieces, so do not buy them from a hardware store.
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| Flush-Cut Pliers |
These pliers are for cutting wire. They generally look like regular wire cutters and the cut they make is flat (or flush) on one side and pointed like a “v” on the other. If you buy cheap Flush-cut pliers, it will be less easy to cut through your wire, because often-time they are dull or poorly machined (can you tell I’ve had bad experiences?). It is definitely a tool you will be using.
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| Bent-Nose Pliers |
These pliers are simply chain-nose pliers with a bend at the end. They remind me of the pliers surgeons and doctors use to make stitches. (Morbid, I know.) They are extremely useful for tying knots and getting into those hard-to-reach areas. Some people prefer to use these over chain-nose pliers; I am not one of those people.
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| Flat-Nose Pliers |
These pliers look almost like chain-nose pliers, except they’re wider. They are useful for bending wire to 90 degree angles, or holding projects and beads without scuffing or scratching the surface. They’re also handy for smoothing out unintended creases or getting those jump-rings flat. I use these quite a bit in my wire-working and have found that they come in handy more often than not. I was really happy that I invested in these.
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| Crimping Pliers |
If you have the funds to invest in a pair of Crimping Pliers, I strongly recommend doing so. These pliers are used to close off crimp beads. They first pinch a “v” into the bead and then you re-position and close the bead off. They are useful for making a strong, beautiful finish to any piece of jewelry. If you have a pair of crimping pliers, but aren’t sure how to use them, I’ve posted a video below as a tutorial (courtesy of jewelrysupply.com).
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| End-Cutting Nippers |
I always think of the Jaws of Life that firefighters use to cut people out of a car when I use these nippers. They are a pair of wire-cutters that look like they’re chomping down on the wire to cut it. These are extremely useful if you’re making your own earring posts, or are finishing something and you want the cut to be flat and even.
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| Wire-Wrapping Pliers |
These pliers look like a tiered wedding cake and a pair of scissors got together and had a baby. They are used for creating consistently-sized wrapped loops or creating your own jump rings. The standard sizes for the tiers are 4 mm, 6 mm, and 8 mm.
There are many other types of pliers and tools available for Jewelry Making. But these are what I consider the basics. If you are just starting, you can do a lot with just getting a pair of round-nose pliers, chain-nose pliers, and flush-cut pliers. I would also strongly suggest getting a pair of flat-nose pliers and crimping pliers to make your life easier.
Pictures were taken from firemountaingems.com.
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