About Using Crimper Pliers

The Crimper Pliers is a low cost hand tool which forms a smooth unobtrusive crimp.  It banishes forever the unsightly sharp edged crimp formed by conventional flattening methods.  Used with "French" crimp beads or crimp tubes up to 3 millimeters in diameter, it forms a finished crimp whose diameter is less than 2 millimeters -- smaller than the crimp itself.  If desired, the finished crimp can be hidden in a clam type bead tip , or a crimp cover or slipped into a large hole bead.

At the last bead (A), the jewelry wire or mono-filament (B) is passed through the crimp bead or crimp tube (C) -- through the clasp or jump ring (D) -- back through the crimp (C) -- and optionally back through the end bead (A).

Looking at the closed jaws of the tool, you will note the two crimp forming areas -- the initial crimping station (E) and the final rounding station (F).  In STEP 1, the crimp bead or tube is fully secured to the cord in the crimping station (E).  Best results are obtained when the two wires are positioned on either side of the center dimple.  In STEP 2, the final shaping is carried out in the rounding station (F).

The small size of the formed crimp allows it to be hidden in a clam bead tip or inside a barrel type clasp.  Here, the last bead is followed by the bead tip (or the clasp) and the crimp itself becomes the end of the piece.  The stringing procedure is the same as before except a thin wire such as a staple is temporarily used in place of the clasp (D) and the assembly is fully drawn up before crimping.  The use of the thin wire allows the loop at the end of the crim to be made as small as possible.

We like to crimp the bead on one side, then reverse the piece and crimp it again with the pliers from the other side.  Trim the excess cord.  (If you can, slide the excess cord back through several beads, and then trim the excess cord).  

Crimp beads are Not used with threads.