Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Lectorog]

Greetings, fellow chainmaillers.
I'm getting some anodized aluminum rings (from TRL), but all my pliers currently have teeth. Any suggestions for toothless pliers? (There are several varieties at that site, and I'm not sure which is most useful.)

The rings I'm looking at are the 18ga, 3/16". These are good for working with, correct? Any feedback is appreciated, thanks.

Also, I'm now thinking "Fifteen Hundred Rings" as a name.  No particular reason.

That seems like a good name. In addition, Google doesn't show anything currently under - or very similar to - that name.

You shouldn't have any problems selling to people who know that your shop exists. All of your craftsdwarfship is of quite fine quality, I must say.

[silverskull39]

good luck with your etsy, girlinhat! I might open one myself eventually, but I haven't had much time for maille lately, so I'm kind of hesitant to open one since I can't really promise a good turnaround time. I am getting some toothless pliers sometime soon, already have them ordered just waiting for them to arrive (chain nose and bent chain nose). Also, in case anyone is interested, www.maillemarket.com seems to be a pretty legit site dedicated to the buying and selling of chainmail products.

[Girlinhat]

18g 3/16 is a pretty standard size, you'll find it fits the common weaves pretty well.  As for toothless pliers, TRL Brand are good, I think they're like $6 a pair.  They're the ones that look cheap, with the red handles of dipped latex.  That's what I use, and they're pretty great.  Alternatively, if you need to get some heavy duty, like working steel or titanium, and these aren't good enough, you can put electrical tape around the teeth.  Toothless pliers don't always have enough leverage like you want.

I've also got some ring-nose pliers, which come to a point.  These are terrible for big rings, like my 18g 1/4", they simply have no grip on them!  But my 20g 3/32" are great with the ring nose.  I haven't used any bent nose, but they look fun.  The next pliers I'd go to would probably be those German modified ones on TRL, those are made for hard-metal working like steel.  Short grabby and long handles makes for great pull.

[kisame12794]

For 5 bucks you can get a file.

[Girlinhat]

That's for filing off, like, the metal shavings that get left behind on saw-cut rings.  For filing off the teeth of a pair of pliers, you need a proper grinder, the kind that they sharpen axe blades with.  Granted, you could probably get a local hardware store to do that for you.  If they offer blade sharpening then you might convince them to remove the teeth.

[Blargityblarg]

My dad used his angle grinder to take the teeth off of my big-ass two-dollar shop pliers, with something smaller it might not be such a great idea though.

[kisame12794]

Well I used a file, but I sharpen knives by hand, so I have a lot of patience.

[Lectorog]

Alright, thanks for the answers. (You mean the wide-nose pliers, I'm assuming.) I wasn't sure if the basic pliers they sold were good for working with general ring sizes. I had considered finding a way to remove the teeth from some pliers, but the already-toothless pliers sold there are cheaper and more comfortable-looking than anything sold around here.
Those modified Knipex pliers do look really nice. I don't have over $30 to spend on each pair of pliers, though, for what's currently a hobby.

I'm grabbing a large assortment of (mostly) anodized aluminum, to find out what I'm going to want to work with more. Altogether (including the pliers), it comes out to about 2.1lbs; which is a lot for shipping!

[Girlinhat]

Yeah, those are good pliers.  Worth every penny.  You may consider going to the grocery or sporting store and picking up some Ace Bandages or just gauze to wrap around the handles, as the plastic dip isn't very comfortable for long-time use.  I'm personally looking into padded gloves right now though.

[Lectorog]

The standard ones are out of stock right now, so I'll have to be going with the ergonomic ones; thus, the dipped handle won't be an issue. I'm doubtful of the quality of the ergonomic ones, as they cost less, but - as long as they work, I'll be happy.

What type of padded glove are you talking about?
Right now, for my winding and cutting of 16ga steel wire, I'm using some really heavy work gloves, with additional padding on the palms. This eliminates the pain induced by running wire along my bare hand and the cutters pressing into my skin; but they're rather restrictive, and I'd not like to wear them while maneuvering rings/pliers.
A quick search tells me, though, that most padded gloves are rather lighter than that. In which case, I would recommend a comfortable pair of gloves.

[Girlinhat]

I'm looking for something basically like Boxers Tape, basically just something padded over the palm, specifically the area around the extreme base of the thumb.

[Girlinhat]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Aklyon]

Interwoven Byzantine again?
Still nifty.

[Girlinhat]

Not again, it's the same piece.  I just finished it

Looking at $25 for these, they're very slow to build up size.  Easy work, but takes time.

In case anyone forgot, it's 18g 1/4" aluminum and bronze (material, not color) interwoven byzantine sheet.  Clasp is "nickel-free" whatever that is.

[Girlinhat]

It's an Etsy!
girlinhat42.etsy.com
girlinhat42.etsy.com
girlinhat42.etsy.com