Why My Combination Pliers are My Favorite Pliers Ever

by Jennifer VanBenschoten

I don't know why I bought my combination pliers over a decade ago. I really didn't do much wire jewelry making, and I never thought I'd use them for much. But they just looked like a handy tool to have in my toolbox, so I bought them, along with my favorite heavy duty flush cutters that still cut as well today as they did almost 10 years ago!

Well, it turns out that those handy little combination pliers are probably one of the best tools ever invented for wire jewelry making. Making things like bead and wire chains with wrapped loops is so much easier with my combination pliers because I don't have to constantly put down and pick up different pairs of pliers for each step. Using the combination pliers means that I have the best of both my chain nose and round nose pliers handy all the time.

Instructions

Let's learn about the combination pliers

Combination pliers have one jaw that is round and tapered like a round nose pliers, and another tapered jaw that is round on the outside and flat on the inside like a chain nose pliers. This means you can do tasks meant for both round nose and chain nose pliers with the same tool, saving you time and making repetitious projects like bead and wire chain quick and easy.

My combination pliers have an extra bonus: if you look on the inside of the chain nose jaw, you’ll see three notches in the metal. I can use these notches in the chain nose jaw to create even, uniform loops when I’m using my combination pliers for making wire wrapped loops and simple loops. This is a great way to make your wire jewelry look more professional, especially if you’re considering selling your work. No more marking the jaws of my round nose pliers with tape and permanent markers!

Using the combination pliers

Before I learned how to use my combination pliers, whenever I was making a wrapped loop, I had 2 pairs of pliers handy: my round nose pliers for making the round loop, and my chain nose pliers for gripping the loop as I made the wire wraps. With my combination pliers, I can do both functions using the same pliers. Here’s how:

Using the two pairs of pliers, you begin making a wire wrapped loop by wrapping your wire around the round nose pliers, and crossing the wires in front of each other. From here, you would put slide the loop off the round nose pliers and grasp the loop in your chain nose pliers before you start wrapping one wire around the other in a coil.

With the combination pliers, all I have to do is slip the loop off the round jaw of the pliers and grip it between both jaws before I continue wrapping. The flat chain nose jaw will hold the loop securely without slipping while I wrap.

Once you get a pair of combination pliers, you’ll wonder how you ever functioned without them. Experiment with your combination pliers for any project where you use both a pair of chain nose and a pair of round nose pliers. If you’re like me, you’ll find that you love the convenience of not having to put down and pick up different pliers multiple times during a project!