Piercing Pliers

Piercing pliers are special tools used for opening and closing body jewelry. These special pliers are ideal for opening and closing of the Captive Bead Rings (CBRs), also known as Ball Closure Rings (BCRs). However, it is important to note that piercing pliers can be used for many other ring types, too, as well as some other body piercing styles. Piercing pliers work best for body jewelry pieces that have parts that are not screwed onto each other but are held together with pressure. Such jewelry needs to be closed tightly so it doesn’t open unexpectedly and it also needs to be opened carefully without losing the moving part. The best example are Captive Bead Rings that have a removable bead that is held by the two ends of the jewelry. In order to properly open and close these rings without bending or damaging the ring, you need to use piercing pliers.

There are two main types of piercing pliers: piercing opening pliers and piercing closing pliers. They are slightly different and made for specific tasks so it is best to have both in your collection. There are also special larger pliers made for opening large gauge rings. These are great for those who have big, heavy rings and cannot open them manually. Keep in mind that it is best to use piercing pliers even if you can open your rings manually. Manual opening and closing can cause bending of the ring and it is also more likely to lose the bead that way. These things are avoided if you use piercing opening pliers and piercing closing pliers.