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Saturday, February 05, 2011

Favored Tools: Duckbill Tweezers

I don't know what these tweezers are called - I've been calling them "duckbill tweezers" because - that's what Kathy Johnson called them in the class I took with her. I think I bought the last remaining pair on the planet - as I haven't seen any since.

It disturbs me that I have only one pair and no source - if something happens to them ... .

Anyway - the reason they are awesome is:

  • tweezers - they do all the tweezery things that tweezers do. (Am I the only person that finds the word "tweezer" inherently funny?)
  • indenting - the back of them is great for making a triangular divot to oh, say, place an eyeball in.
  • pulling & shaping - like pulling up and shaping ears.
  • squeezing - that end lets you squeeze a nice delicate line to straighten stringer.



The red patch at the end of them, by the way - is a mark made with nail polish. I put marks on all my tools so that at the end of a class - I can say - all the tools with red marks come back to me. It's equally useful whether I'm teaching the class, taking the class, or just demo'ing.




If anyone knows what they are "really" called, what they are supposed to be used for, or where they come from, please do leave a comment. I've described them to many people - who then promptly point me to bent-nose tweezers. That close-to-90-degree bend is important - and the shallow bend of the regular bent-nose tweezers just doesn't cut it.
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8 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:47 p.m.

    Hi, they're called curved tweezers, if you search you should find a set the same as the ones you have. These are close but not identical

    http://www.centagraph.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Tools_47.html


    Thanks for all the posts, I love your blog,

    Rob.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous4:49 p.m.

    . . . abssooooolutly right, i have one too and i dont wanna miss it to work with glass, best ever for fines stringers and glassmodelling . . .
    hugs and greets
    guido

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous5:00 p.m.

    . . . ohhh sorry, watchmaker work with it, at the diamondmanufaktur (stone) also. . . they need the angle of the tweezers to fix diamonds or glockmechanics in a sitting position with macro-ocular in front of there eyes.
    "fine 90 angle tweezers" or elektronik tweezers, you can by it mostly in a set very cheep at the homework-storehouses (i hope my english sounds not so swissgerman ;)) and you understand it . . .
    lg
    guido

    ReplyDelete
  4. Chris6:31 p.m.

    I have seen the tweezers in scientific supply catalogs. The one site lists them as #6 Dumont forceps. I think I have seen them on one of the lampworking supplier's sites but I am not sure. I have seen them in the instrument catalogs and wondered how they would work for glass. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Darlene for Pendragonfyre Designs6:49 p.m.

    I would suggest doing an internet search on dental tools as these look like a more specialized type than ordinary bent nosed...

    ReplyDelete
  6. dragonjools7:05 p.m.

    wow - ask and ye shall receive! Thank you all!

    ReplyDelete
  7. perlaperla1:58 p.m.

    Hi!

    Look here:
    http://www.ofrei.com/page257.html Style #6...
    Unfortunately they are not THAT cheap as Guido said... like all swissmade tools ;)

    I found them by google picture searching, with keyword "tweezers".
    How small is the world, that I found a swiss tool site, but in english...

    Bye
    Angela

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gail DB2:40 p.m.

    I just ordered a pair from AuntiesBeads.com ($3.99 US), only they're more curved on the backside of the beak [duck's bills are rounded]. Anywho, they are called "bent-nose tweesers". They are also good for placing small stones, such as flat-back Swarovskis, into clay designs. I ordered the last pair, but they will get more. I think most metal clay dealers have these in stock.

    ReplyDelete