Buying Pliers  

Every toolbox or tool cabinet needs a good pair of pliers.  

Pliers are like little alligators that grip and turn almost anything within reason. They come in handy for projects around the house or when working to fix the car. The flat-nose pliers have the problem of not being able to reach into tight spaces. That’s where the long-nose pliers come into play; they have a long nose and can get at anything that can’t be touched with fingers or other gripping devices. Of course, the types of pliers do not have much power at the tip of the nose. 

Round-nose pliers are good for handicraft work because of the force being focuses in the one area –the nose area. Crimping pliers are for that, they crimp things together, such as tags and metal connectors and they are very useful. Lastly, there are cutting pliers which can cut wires and all sorts of small objects that fit into its cutting area. A word of warning, cutting pliers are not for cutting nails and screws. People misuse these things and ruin their cutting edges. 

How to choose the pliers to buy? Simple, everybody needs a good pair of regular pliers, then a pair of flat nose and then a pair of cutting pliers. Really, you cannot go wrong with several pair of pliers in the toolbox. When selecting, do choose the expensive ones to buy because the cheaper ones will be useless. They will not hold up to stress and they will more than likely rust after a few months. Shoddy materials make for bad pliers and nothing is worse when your pliers do not do what you need them to do. 

Lastly, make sure you buy pliers made in America, not in China or some place that makes cheap pliers from poor materials. You will only regret your purchase when you go to do something and the thing fails to grip what you need, or worse, it breaks in half.