I Heart Tools

One of the prizes for this month’s challenge is a pair of Bent Nose Lindstrom pliers. They are being donated by Jean Yates of
Pretty Kitty Dog Moon.
When asked why Jean loved Lindstrom bent nose pliers here’s what she said.

I have two reasons why I like bent nose pliers:
1) When you are working with chain maille, you hold the bent nose pliers
in your non-dominant hand and “push” the ring open and closed with the curved part of the tool.Your control, after you get used to working this way, is far better. Your rings and tools are much less apt to go flying off every which way! So to repeat: you just work better if you have one regular chain nose pair of pliers in your dominant hand, and a bent nose in your non- dominant hand! I am addicted to making chain maille this way. Also, additionally, when working with rings, sometime you need to lift up and place a recalcitrant ring in a certain difficult position, and bent nose pliers, once you get the hang of them, work better for this.

2) These pliers are the absolute best for finishing off a neat cut on a wire wrap. If you have a pair of earrings with beads on head pins, for example, and you have cut the wire right down at the bottom next to the bead, you can take your bent nose pliers and push in slightly with the curved end. You will be able to move the silver right up close to the wire wrapping you have done far better than with regular chain nose pliers. It will look really neat and be really snug. If I could I would sleep with my bent nose pliers!
Just kidding!

However, basically, bent nose pliers are as essential to me as my other “major tools”, like chain nose, and round nose, although I don’t mention them in projects in magazines because I do not expect people to have the on a regular basis. I had worked with jewelry for ages before I got my first pair.

As for Lindstrom, you don’t get better than that. There is only one other company which is equal.
Let us know, which type of pliers do you use the most? Do you have a favorite brand?