Kitiki tested a range of pliers and cutters, some UK made and some imported from India, China, Japan, Germany, the USA, and Sweden.

We chose the Swedish make Lindstrom, generally recognised as the best because they successfully combine quality, comfort, size, precision, material, hardness, sharpness, and have 150 years of manufacturing experience built in. They're guaranteed for 10 years.

BEFORE STARTING

It's tempting to buy a complete set of inexpensive pliers and cutters in the high street or from a catalogue. However, as soon as you unwrap them, you'll notice some of the following:

Often, the cheapest are the same but rebranded, repackaged, and repriced. Sometimes, a coat of laquer disguises a poor finish. However, as it will soon wear off, the metal will probably rust or discolour quickly.

There's an important difference between pliers made for general home and business engineering, and those made for jewellery, modelmaking, and electronics. Engineering pliers have grooved jaws designed to grip, so they'll easily mark soft materials, such as silver, gold, copper, and some stones. Jewellery pliers need smooth jaws.

They're uncomfortable to hold. The tips don't align perfectly, so you can't hold small pieces or delicate shapes reliably. The spring action needs continual pressure, tiring during precision work. The hinge tightness prevents them releasing easily. And you can nip your skin whilst squeezing.

The jaws have high spots or badly finished edges that will leave marks that will be hard to remove. The cutting edges aren't hardened, cut obliquely or unevenly, and will soon go blunt or get notched.

The hinges are scissor-action, rather than box-action, and will twist when you bend wire or adjust findings. Delicate wire and clasp work is difficult.

In addition, pliers and cutters from the same set are often not engineered and finished to the same standard, so buying and replacing is unpredictable.

A number of shops and internet shops offer what they describe as a budget set of pliers, at anything from £9.99 to £34.99. These are usually Indian imports, and cost shops about £3.00. Everything that can be wrong with them, is wrong.

You'll enjoy using good tools. They'll help you manage a creative and efficient work environment. And they'll last a long time.

Round-nose pliers have tapered circular-section jaws. They're generally used to shape, place, and adjust delicate findings; re-shape cut links; and bend wire and strips into curves, circles, and ovals.

Flat-nose pliers have tapered rectanglular-section jaws. They're generally used to shape, place, and adjust findings; squeeze and close cut links; bend wire and strips at angles; and shape the paper type Art Clay.

Pointed-nose pliers, sometimes called long-nose or snipe-nose, have tapered semi-circular-section jaws. They're generally used to shape, place, and adjust findings; re-shape cut links; and bend wire and strips into angles, curves, circles, and ovals.

Flush cutters are used to cut wire, strips, chains, and clasp links. The cutting edges are hardened and align perfectly, and the cut is straight rather than oblique or vee-shaped.