Shaken, Not Stirred.

Spend less time explaining vitreous floaters. This model of the eye demonstrates how floaters suspend and drift. It's a visual aid that minimizes patient confusion and cumulatively saves you hours of exam time.

Patients will easily see and quickly comprehend the how and why about "spots and floaters", without you having to give repetitive and possibly alarming explanations. A shake of the globe sends the "floaters" swirling, pausing and drifting downwards, replicating what the patient is experiencing.

The Vitreous Floater Demonstrator features mesh particles in a clear dense "vitreous fluid". The housing is made of transparent, durable molded plastic with an attractive eye applique.

Measures: 3 1/2" W x 3 3/4" H x 4 1/4" D.

Hold. That. Open.

Stop frustrating yourself. This is the spring hinge mounting tool that really works. This simple to use tool set allows you to extend the spring hinge barrel and hold it in the extended position. The self-locking plier makes it easy to align the temple with the frame front and insert the hinge screw. Single handedly assemble those frustrating spring hinge frames in seconds.

This updated model allows you to safely and quickly open several types of spring hinges. Watch our demonstration video and be dazzled.

For added convenience use the Self-Closing Fine Tip Tweezer or the Screw Starter to easily start the screw in the barrel.

Insider Info from Joshua

"One of the many nice things about owning the factory is that I can make product improvements whenever I want. As eyewear styles change regularly in both fashion and hardware a tool’s design needs to stay current. That’s what occurred when the US Military contacted us with a problem. They had been using our Spring Hinge Plier for years and loved it. Yet, lately the spring hinges that were on their frames didn’t work with the original plier. They sent me a few samples and I made a change to the jaw of the plier so it would still work on the original hinge as well as the new style.  Time for an upgrade to Spring Hinge Plier Kit 2.0" 

Insert. Charge. Magnetize.

Totally Cool! Charge Your Tools!

We’ve figured out a way to get around the fact that the type of steel used to make pliers and driver blades cannot be permanently magnetized. This is the easy and efficient way to continuously provide a magnetic charge to drivers, tweezers and pliers to pick up those small screws and findings.

Holds 12 tools (not included). Measures 2-1/2" H x 3" diameter. A Western exclusive!

See other options below, or view all Trays and Tool Holders 

Insider Info from Joshua

"Often I am asked, “Why can’t screwdriver blades be magnetized?” Here’s the answer. They can be… (pause for effect)…but they just can’t be permanently magnetized. It has to do with the type of steel used to make blades: soft enough to be stamped into shape and strong enough to be able to be hardened. That translates to low iron content steel and it is the iron that holds the magnetic charge. The key is to keep applying a magnetic charge to the steel when not in use and it will hold the charge for when it is in use. That’s what this little guy does." 

The Swiss Army Knife of Opticians.

Western’s engineering solution that saves you time six ways: punches out hinge and eyewire screws, re-establishes a screwdriver slot in a damaged screw head, flares or peens the screw end and can replace a hinge screw with a QuikFix Rivet.

The Shootout arms you with the most power available in a hand tool. The patented lever mechanism takes a gentle squeeze and transforms it into the controlled power needed to easily eject broken screws and reduce damage to the barrel.

The Shootout is simple to align and comfortable to grip even for the smallest hands. Kit includes precision hand tool and complete set of punches and anvils. 8 5/8" long. US Patent #6,006,410.

Insider Info from Joshua

"The head tool buyer for a very large chain came to me one day at a trade show and asked what we had for punching out screws.  We had nothing.  For the remainder of the show I asked our clients if punching out screws was a 'thing'. Sure enough, it happens more often than I imagined. Building a better solution to what was available was the engineering challenge. Making it reliable and user friendly came after several evolutions. The additional features making it a 'multi-tool' came from customer input."

Do your fingers a favor!

Bend and straighten ear pieces comfortably. Be kind and stop burning your fingers by letting this handy tool take the heat and do the work. Easy to straighten an ear piece, replace the temple tip and curve it back into position.

Insider Info from Joshua

"One of the products we manufacture is the Hot Box frame warmer and we use it often to test certain eyewear materials. Some of these materials need to get very hot before they can take an adjustment. This really gets tough on the fingers. To help save our fingers and yours, I wanted to come up with a handy and easy solution. By the way, The Temple Tamer is the first product we designed and made using 3D printing."

Two Pliers In One.

Your dispensing table is crowded and you don’t like reaching for two pliers when one will do. We get it. So we combined the nose pad and nose pad arm adjusting functions into one plier. Specially designed jaws safely grab and adjust the nose pad and box while the unique jaw tips securely pinch the pad arm to adjust its curvature.

See other models of this plier below. View all Nose Pad Adjusting Pliers

Saving Your Nails For Better Things.

Modern lens material is very soft and during the edging process there might be a little swarf remaining where the bevel meets the surfaces. You want to remove this excess material and not run the risk of scratching the lens.

The curved edges on this blade help keep it balanced on the edge of the lens. We built in fine, squared tips for cleaning out the groove of a nylon cord rimless.

Made in the USA of spring steel mounted into a carbon steel nickel plated handle.

The Tool You’d Make Yourself... If You Had A Machine Shop.

Releasing a rimlon cord can be frustrating. You need something very thin, chiseled and strong. Here it is. Easier removal/inserting of the rimlon cord out of/in to the lens groove.

See other models of this plier below. View all Rimless Related Products

Insider Info from Joshua

"For years there were two ways to work with semi-rimless nylon cords. The tool with the hook that goes under the cord and hooks it or a piece of firm ribbon to slide under the cord then wrap around and yank. So we combined the best elements into a stiff thin metal wedge that slips under the cord. There is also a groove on the forward lip to grab the cord and pull it out of the groove. We’re not going to win any design awards but folks like it." 

The Great Finger Nail Saver.

Having to replace the compression tubing on a rimless frame can be a huge chore if you don’t have the proper tools. One particularly tedious step in the process is removing the tubing from around the barbed posts. With this tool you effortlessly cut through the tube without biting into the metal post. The cutting blade gap is adjustable so you set the proper cutting depth. Use the slot in the jaw to remove the cut tube from the post.

See other models of this plier below. View all Rimless Related Products

Insider Info from Joshua

"I was working on the Post Pushing Plier #5121F and having to repeatedly remove the plastic from the compression rimless posts. My fingernails lasted about five posts and then I went for the straight edge razor. Scared the heck out of me! All I wanted to do was to safely cut the tube down to the post and strip it off without bleeding or destroying my nails. This tool saves you from all that." 

Original. Best. Has A Fun Name.

This is the driver you shouldn’t work without! As the size and shape of lock nuts proliferates so does your collection of nut drivers. How many times a day do you try driver after driver and never find one that grabs the nut? Western has ended your search.

The expandable jaw automatically grips any size or shape lock nut, hex nut, star nut, cap nut or round nut. The more pressure you apply, the tighter the grip on the nut.

The Universal Nut Grabber is the one driver that does it all. 3-3/4" long.

Available in two models:

#5070 – Solid, all-metal construction for continuous laboratory use. $24.95

#5075 – Injection molded plastic exterior for office use. $19.95

See other options below, or view all Screw and Nut Drivers and Holders

Insider Info from Joshua

"The main motivation for Western to attend a trade show is to get to meet our customers and to hear about their dispensing challenges. For many years our clients would ask when was I going to design one wrench to handle any shape or size nut? I kept thinking about it but couldn’t come up with a truly universal design. Then, one day, I was exploring an artist’s supply store and noticed the tools for holding charcoal and lead. Using that as my inspiration, I designed the Universal Nut Grabber." 

With Delrin plastic on both jaws, this is the plier to use to grip plastic or metal frames when bending temples. Use on any part of the frame as these jaws won’t mar the finish. Strong Delrin pads are only 8mm wide, allowing you to get into restricted spaces. The pads are dovetailed onto the jaw so replacing them is quick and easy.

See other models of this plier below. View all Double Delrin Jaw Pliers

Insert. Align. Mount.

You can stop hurting your fingers now. Instead of forcing a push-in style nose pad into the box, use this plier to gently pop the pad into place. Insert the pad between the plier’s jaws, align with the box and squeeze the pad into place without moving either the nose pad box or pad arm out of adjustment.

See other models of this plier below. View all Nose Pad Pliers

Insider Info from Joshua

"This is the complement to the #8032S Nose Pad Popping Plier. You can accidentally bend the nose pad arm when taking the pad out and also when trying to insert the pad. This little gem lets you replace the pad without messing up the arm and having to readjust the glasses. A MicroTool design to help you use as little pressure as necessary." 

Align. Squeeze. Pop.

You need to replace a pair of nose pads. If you are lucky, the pads will just drop out when you try to remove them. If you are not, you will have to wrestle them out of the box changing the position of the nose pad box and arm. With this plier a quick change stays that way without having to do a full readjustment. Slip the pronged jaw between the pad and the box and let the hooked jaw pop out the pad.

See other models of this plier below. View all Nose Pad Pliers

Insider Info from Joshua

" his plier inspiration came from hanging around busy dispensaries. A patient comes in for a nose pad swap. Should take a few moments of pleasant banter and it’s done. Yet a simple procedure turns complicated as the nose pad arm gets bent out of shape while trying to dislodge the pad. Now the frame needs to be readjusted. This little plier will pop out the pad without moving the arm. We made it a MicroTool because we didn’t want you to use too much effort to get the pad out" 

Too big? Too small? Just right!

Determining the correct size replacement screw is a frustrating, time consuming task. It’s the “Goldilocks” dilemma. The first screw you try is too large, the next is too small. You want to find the right screw the first time. Western Optical Supply has exactly what you need to quickly determine a replacement screw size.

With the Goldilocks Screw Gauge™ spend less time replacing screws and more time selling eyewear.

The Goldilocks Screw Gauge™ is a precision milled steel probe graduated in six “steps” of increasing diameter. Insert the gauge through the barrel’s bottom threaded leaf until it feels snug. Note which “step” is in the barrel. Compare that “step” to the sizing chart provided to determine the proper replacement screw diameter. The colors on the chart correspond with most major screw suppliers’ color code on the cap of the screw vial. If your color coding is different, there is a chart on the reverse that you can customize with your own color code. US Patent #960004S1.

Insider Info from Joshua

For years, Western has been asked to carry a line of screws. I have been very hesitant to get involved in offering a product that does not have a competitive advantage. In response to these requests, we researched what innovation would be needed in the world of eyeglass screws.

 What we found is that the industry does not need another line of screws, but it does need a time saving way of determining the proper screw size.

The old-fashioned screw gauge measures the size of the barrel hole but does not consider the added dimension of the screw threads. A 1.2mm hole does not use a 1.2mm replacement screw. Therefore, it gives only a rough starting point.

Western Optical Supply went to work designing an accurate and easy to use probe that correlates to the correct screw diameter. However, to manufacture the Goldilocks Screw Gauge required advanced technology. To mill stainless steel on this micro scale with precision tolerances within 0.005” down to the tip of an ever thinning spindle is a technical feat. The resulting gauge will make the task of replacing screws much less of a chore.

The Goldilocks Gauge™: easy, fast and accurate.

Curves ahead.

The nose pad arms look like they’ve been steam rolled.  In one quick action, you can put the correct curve back into that pad arm. Place the plier’s concave jaw where you want the curve and the opposite jaw will press the arm into perfect shape. Actually, kind of brilliant.

So much better than a PD stick! 

The Manual Pupilometer is the quick way to take accurate measurements of a patient's monocular and binocular interpupillary distance (PD). The higher the prescribed lens power, the greater the need for precise PD measuring. Reduces costly do-overs due to inaccurate measuring. Keep one on hand as backup when your digital pupilometer is non-functional.

All polycarbonate construction. Comes with easy-to-follow instructions. Made in USA.