Tool Talk: Why Lindstrom RX Pliers and Cutters are My Favorite Jewelry Making Tools
Whether you’ve been making jewelry for decades or just starting your creative adventures, having the right tools that help take care of your hands are a must for every jewelry studio. These Lindstrom RX Pliers and Cutters are some of Michelle Pajak-Reynolds’s favorite jewelry making tools and have helped save her wrists from carpal tunnel pain.
Tool Talk is a new Journal series where Michelle Pajak-Reynolds shares her favorite jewelry making tools collected over 3 decades of creative practice. The following information is shared to help educate readers on the jewelry making process and to help fellow jewelers at all skill levels, especially students, find quality tools. Michelle Pajak-Reynolds and Michelle Pajak-Reynolds Studios LLC are not affiliated with or compensated by any of the brands or vendors mentioned in these articles.
An artist’s tools, no matter the materials they work in, are an extension of their body and their soul. Lindstrom’s RX Pliers and Cutter set from Rio Grande (item 111057) are some of my favorite jewelry making tools.
I invested in this set of ergonomic handle pliers after suffering carpal tunnel pain in my right thumb and wrist 18 years ago. By switching to pliers and cutters with large ergonomic grips and replaceable BioSprings, the pressure needed to operate the tool is evenly distributed and reduces hand fatigue and stress on finger joints and wrists. I use these pliers hundreds of times a day for a variety of tasks. They’re my favorite and most comfortable plier set for wire-wrapping and pin-setting the 11,532+ gemstones featured in my collections and custom orders since 2014.
I LOVE these Lindstrom RX Pliers and Cutters because I’ve been able to work pain-free fo almost 2 decades and they pack easily allowing me to set-up a creative space anywhere. (Yes, I’ve even taken them on vacation because a vacation that doesn’t include some art-making in no vacation at all. LOL )
Here’s a few of my most recent designs made with my favorite pliers.
Michelle Pajak-Reynolds
The creative journey of Michelle Pajak-Reynolds—from childhood spark to timeless, handcrafted treasures.
“My love story with jewelry began before I was born. My parents met across a jewelry counter—my mother, a jewelry department manager; my father, a police officer working loss prevention in his off-duty hours. That moment of serendipity set everything in motion.
By five, I was working on my first designs in pop-beads and jelly bracelets, completely captivated by Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman—especially those iconic power bracelets and her gleaming tiara. I didn’t want to just wear magic, I wanted to make it. With babysitting money and a fierce sense of purpose, I bought beads and wire from the local craft store and taught myself the fundamentals. That curiosity turned into a calling.
I took my first metalsmithing class in high school and never looked back. I went on to earn a BFA in Jewelry/Metals from Kent State University and an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Baldwin-Wallace University—equipping me to build a business rooted in craftsmanship, creativity, and soul.
Since founding my namesake jewelry company in 2001, I’ve focused on creating meaningful, one-of-a-kind designs—each one handcrafted using traditional metalsmithing techniques and ethically sourced materials. My work is intimate and intentional: forged in fire, shaped by hand, and designed to stir something deep within you. Every gemstone, every metal, every story that inspires a collection is carefully chosen, researched, and refined. This is slow jewelry with a purpose: to help you mark what matters most.
My pieces have graced red carpets at the Emmy Awards, runways at New York Fashion Week, and exhibitions around the world—including aboard the United Nations Peace Boat. Collectors, stylists, and editors seek out my work, but what means the most to me is when a client says, “This feels like it was made just for me.”
Because it was.
Jewelry, to me, is personal mythology made tangible. It’s a way of preserving the past, celebrating the present, and passing something meaningful into the future. So when you open your jewelry box, you're not just looking at beautiful objects—you're holding pieces of your life’s story. And maybe, just maybe, you're beginning a new chapter.” - Michelle Pajak-Reynolds