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Small Jewelry Tools for Big Jewelry Jobs

By Tammy Powley, About.com

Beadstrom 4-Piece Small Tool Kit

Beadalon
I often receive e-mails from new jewelry making converts asking about tools and if there was any places they could buy a kit so they could get all the tools they needed at one time. As someone who has collected tools over the many years I've been involved in jewelry making, I can see the advantage of a kit as well, and recently, I got a chance to try one out. It's called the Beadstrom 4-Piece Small Took Kit, and it's from the folks at Beadalon.

The kit includes a zip pouch with semi-flush cutters, round-nosed pliers, chain nosed pliers, flat-nosed pliers, and a small allen wrench. While Beadstrom tools are available with long or short handles, the tools in this kit are all short handled. I prefer short handles on most of my tools because they fit my hands better, but for those who may prefer longer handled tools, this may be a drawback to the kit.

I tested out the tools by making a few projects for this site, and I was impressed by the quality. Of the four pieces, I liked the chain-nosed best (very nicely tappered nose) and the flat-nosed least (much wider nose than I'm used to). I mentioned that tool kits like this are helpful for beginners, but for those who are not new to jewelry making, these would be handy if you travel to sell your work at shows or if, like myself, you pretty much find yourself making jewelry all over the house.

Beadalon is not a direct retailer, but you can find its products available from lots of vendors and bead shops. It also has a list of wholesalers, retailers, and international sellers available on the company's web site.

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