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The number one question I am asked in e-mail correspondence is how to prevent marks on the wire made from pliers. There is no easy answer to this question, but, I will offer few thoughts. The quality of your pliers make a difference. My first set of pliers made my wire look like it went through a meat grinder. Hardened tool steel (the more expensive choice) produces cleaner work than stainless steel pliers (the less expensive choice). Lindstrom tools utilize the hardest steel available and then they even make it harder through the process of salt quenching.

Another factor has to do with how much experience you have in wire work. You remember learning to drive, right? Remember over-steering, those teeth chattering stops at the signal, and lunging forward like you were in the Indy 500? Well, this learning process applies to wire too. With time, you discover just how much pressure is needed to achieve the end result. Too much pressure means more marks on your wire.

This factor is important. If you are too much of a perfectionist, you will see marks that no one notices without magnifiers. Are you driving yourself crazy? You probably need to apply less pressure on yourself, not the pliers.

Here are some methods of minimizing marks, hiding them, or getting rid of them.

1. Use liver of sulfur to oxidize your jewelry. It masks those little imperfections.
2. Use forming pliers when making curves (loops) in the wire. With these pliers one jaw is round and the other is flat. This minimizes the pinch on the wire from holding it with 2 round jaws.
3. Use parallel pliers when making spirals. This unique design allows you to open the jaws parallel to each other, thus avoiding the little pinch factor from the inside area of the jaws.
4. Use nylon jaw pliers. These do not provide a strong grip on the wire. I do love to use these pliers to straighten wire, especially in the smaller gauges.
5. Coat your pliers with a plastic compound. I have not used these compounds so I can’t really say much more.
6. Make sure there are no marks on your pliers – these will transfer right into your wire. Use fine sand paper to remove the marks.
7. Use silicone carbide discs in various grits with your flex shaft to get rid of those nasty little marks.
8. Those small divots in your wire can be filed away with need files. Start with a coarse file (#0) and work down to a fine file (#4).

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