Set Beading
Will I still get good results from cheap beading tools?
This is actually for my wife, but I'm helping her do research.
There seemsto be a wide variety of prices for the basic beading hand tools. I can't see them in person since we are going to mail-order, but I want to know if the cheap sets will do the trick.
Any experiences or recommendations are welcome.
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I have been a jewelry designer for over ten years and believe or not I still use my first set of pliers although I do own 6 or more different sets (I had a bead store and of course kept different sets for myself to test out).
When selecting her pliers you need to consider the size of her hands. If she has large hands then a set of small pliers may be cumbersome and may tire out her hands faster. The same goes if she has tiny hands and tries to use a large set.
The choice in selecting pliers is dependent on the amount of time she spends on making jewelry. That is where the comfort of holding and using these hand tools will make a big difference not necessarily in the quality of her work but in the comfort of holding and working with them for any length of time.
If she is doing mostly stringing and uses her pliers for cutting flexible beading wire, flattening crimps, or making the odd wrapped loop for earrings or dangles then a cheaper set will be all she needs.
The quality of your round nose and needle nose (also called chain nose) will not make a difference in the quality of her work. Quality in her work comes in knowing how to use her tools properly.
The only pliers I have HAD to replace over the years are my cutters. Especially cheap ones, they dull fast and get nicks in the blades easily if I use any hard wire.
I now use two different cutters, one for cutting harder wire (28 gauge to 14 gauge) and one JUST for cutting flexible beading wire (also called tiger tail or beadalon). If she uses memory wire at all then either use memory wire cutters or an old pair of cutters from your tool box. Do not use jewelry pliers to cut memory wire or you will definitely ruin them.
A great site to check out for making, designing and selling jewelry is:
http://www.beading-design-jewelry.com
The whole site is a home based jewelry business and design guide with hundreds of ideas and tips to inspire you to design and create unique bead jewelry designs that will give you an edge in the market place. A great resource for inspiration and innovation in marketing and designing handmade bead jewelry.
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