Pliers

I was right in the middle of assembling a bunch of mobiles, reached out to grab my handy pliers and I felt a *pop*. Damn. They broke.... well technically they are still functional, but the little spring inside snapped (from friction, I simply use them a lot) and now they no longer have a handy spring that pushes them back open after I squeeze. In fact, these particular pliers seem sorta limp and floppy without the spring tension inside. Hmph. I have quite the collection of pliers (most of my mobile frames are made with my two hands and simple wire bending pliers) and these are my favorites - so I had to go out immediately and find another pair. I tend to buy pliers whenever I see a handy looking number staring at me in a store, so who knows where I found these! I had thought maybe Sears. No luck. So I called Tim, he reminded me I bought them at Home Depot. Sure enough there they were.

Let me tell ya - these are sweet pliers. Compound joints that makes them have a stronger squeeze. And the nose to handle ratio is exactly what I like... too long and they distort easily... too short and they require too much muscle. And they are only $15. Its a great tool. I tend to like the little tiny pliers the best, but if I have to use big ones, this is my tool of choice.