Beading tools for jewelry making are small and nimble, allowing you to manipulate and alter jewelry designs as needed. If you’re making your own handmade jewelry, it’s important to have the right equipment on hand, so be sure to check out this handy list of the top beadworking tools out there! You won’t regret it!
A magnifying glass is an essential tool to have in your studio. It’s used to help you see the details of the beads and components, which can be especially helpful when you’re using small beads. This is also a good tool to have if you need to thread seed beads on a needle because it will help you see what you’re doing. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on one though, any magnifying lens will do as long as it has at least 10x magnification. Magnifiers with LED lights are also very useful because they will illuminate your workspace no matter how dark it is. And don’t forget about safety glasses!
No list of beading tools is complete without a mention of needle-nose pliers, which are great for pulling wire through beads. These are also handy when you need to grip small objects tightly, like when inserting a threaded needle into a bead hole. For basic threading, I often use my regular pliers because the long handles make it easy to get into tight spaces. If I’m working on small or delicate jewellery pieces, though, I prefer using chain-nose pliers. They have short handles that are perfect for reaching inside those tiny gemstone settings and their sharp tips make quick work of stringing pearls and other beads onto thinner wires.
You might think that wire cutters are just used to cut wire. It’s true, but they are also useful for cutting metal clamps, pliers, and other tools. In fact, you’ll need them when you make jewellery with a tig welder. ok9Wire cutters come in two sizes: the larger ones have a jaw opening of between 2 and 4 inches; the smaller ones have a jaw opening between 1 inch and 2 inches.
A craft knife is a very versatile tool that can be used to cut, carve, and shape a variety of materials. It’s perfect for a variety of jewellery-making projects as it can cut through nearly any material like paper, cardboard, sheet metal, ceramics and more. A craft knife can also be used to create decorative cuts and washes by using the point of the blade. The best part about this awesome tool is that it’s fairly inexpensive and you’ll always find one around when you need it!
Main photo: Alexey Demidov/unsplash.com
