What are the basic tools you need for making handcrafted jewellery?
There are three basic tools you need to get started making wire jewellery. They are; a pair of round nose pliers, a pair of chain nose or flat nose pliers and a pair of wire cutters.
What are round nose pliers and what do you do with them?
Round Nose Pliers have this name because of the rounded shape of their jaws. They are ideal for making loops and spirals but not so good for gripping.
The jaws taper towards the point which allows you to position your wire to get the size of loop that you want. For a large loop place your wire near the handles, for a small loop place your wire towards the tip of the pliers.
If you want to make consistent sized loops it is a good idea to mark the pliers with a permanent marker so that you always place your wire in the same place. If you don't want to mark your pliers place masking tape around them and mark on the tape instead.
What are chain nose pliers and what do you do with them?
Chain nose pliers are similar to round nose pliers but the inside edge of the jaws is flat. This makes them more suitable for gripping wire as the flat edge gives them more grip.
They are very useful for opening and closing jump rings or for gripping wire. Like round nose pliers, they taper towards the tip, which makes them invaluable for getting into small spaces, for example to tuck in a wire end.
When buying chain nose pliers make sure that the inside edge is not serrated as this can mark your wire.
What are flat nose pliers and what do you do with them?
Flat Nose Pliers are very similar to chain nose pliers but the jaws do not taper towards the tip. This gives a greater surface area to hold the wire and hence more grip.
You will probably find them less essential than chain nose pliers but they are useful when you want to hold a piece of wire very securely.
What are wire cutter pliers and what do you do with them?
Wire cutters are an essential pair of pliers for the jewellery maker. They allow you to easily trim and cut your wire and headpins to length.
It is important not to use normal wire cutters for cutting memory wire as it can damage them. It is possible to buy special memory wire cutters for cutting memory wire instead.
