My Christmas Present

My best friend is a true best friend. She's the type of person that will give you the shirt off her back or her last $5 if you need it. I've never met anyone as kind and caring as MaRanda. And, I'm lucky enough to have her as my very bestest friend!

I've been talking about getting new pliers for, well, a long time now. Sometimes I talk about it more than others. I was trying to decide what brand to get, and how I was going to afford them.

I know Lindstrom are supposed to be the 'best of the best' when it comes to pliers, but I was having a hard time justifying spending that much money on something when I'm not really making money consistently on my sales.

Then, I think I was reading some posts in the WWJ Yahoo Group and they were talking about pliers. A brand I had never heard of was mentioned: Wubbers. What a crazy name. I decided maybe I should check them out in my usual fashion, research a million websites and try to find the lowest price. Like I needed something else to research.

I went to the recommended website, the website of the creator of the Wubbers pliers at www.wiredupbeads.com. So what did I learn?

1. They have super-long handles! Fantastic! I hate short pliers that dig into the flesh of my palm! As a matter of fact, these babies are 6.5 inches long!
2. They are great working with all different gauges of wire, from 12 gauge to 28 gauge.
3. They have a nice matte finish to the jaws of the pliers to help hold the wire but not mar it, and the edges of the pliers come already filed and rounded.
4. Nice smooth lightly padded handles are great on the ol' tired hands, along with a sleek shape that fits to the palm of your hand.
5. They have nice leaf springs to pop the pliers open smoothly without effort on your part.
6. Best of all, they are nearly half the price of Lindstroms, and offer many fine qualities that more expensive pliers have.

I did some price comparasion shopping and found that FDJ Tool had Wubbers on sale! More great news! But, I didn't have the money for the 3 pliers I was looking at specifically; the round nose of course, bent nose, and chain nose. So where does my best friend fit into all this?

She had been standing in the background all this time, quietly watching, asking questions. She had secret conversations with my stepdad, whom I talk with all the time about tools. One night, she hands me some money and tells me to get the pliers.

I was shocked. This was quite a chunk of dough, and it wasn't even Christmas yet. It still isn't Christmas yet!!! She had that look in her blue eyes that said 'Don't even argue with me.' She waited right there for me to order what I wanted.

Some might say it's awful for you to have to order your own present, but I understand. That way she was sure I got what I wanted. Finding the correct item for a beader is a nightmare. We are very specific. I think she understands that.

In any case, I got them in the mail the other day. And man, they are beauties. I played around with some black coated craft wire to see how they work, and they feel smooth, and fit right into my hand. They don't mar the wire. I'm trying to practice not having that 'death grip' on pliers by pretending that my thumb is broken, a tip I read, but it's hard to get into the habit.

I love them! All in all, I can say this is the best Christmas present I've gotten so far! ;) And, I want the world to know MaRanda is the best friend I've ever had, and not just because of the pliers! })i({

(This post is simply an opinion on Wubbers pliers, not an endorsement of any particular pliers, or of any website. I am not being paid or compensated for this blog!)