Hold me. Hold me tight.

There are two reasons for owning this plier. The compression fixture has to be held rock solid when you need to adjust the temple or bridge. Adjusting the temple or bridge puts pressure on the drilled holes which can crack the lens. There needs to be equal pressure on both sides of the fixture for absolutely safest results. That is why our Delrin plastic jaw, for the minus side of the lens, pivots to match the base curve. 

Replacing the compression tubing is the other reason to have this plier. The Delrin plastic jaws are dual grooved to cradle the metal and plastic components, on either axis, for even, consistent pressure to drive the posts into the tubing. Opens extra wide for thick lenses.

#1050V – Black Vinyl Handle

#1050F – Green Foam Handle

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

Insider Info from Joshua

"I designed the first (and still the best) plier for working with compression rimless mountings. Basically, everyone else has a less functional knockoff. Our big feature is a pivoting pad. The pad that goes on the minus side of the lens pivots to match the back side base curve. If you are attempting to grasp the fixture to hold it steady while you adjust the temple the entire fixture and lens must be secured. The key is even pressure front to back. As the pads on other pliers don’t pivot, the fixture is only being held at the thickest point on the lens. This makes it much easier to inadvertently crack the lens at the drilled hole." 

Step Up Your Game.

The part of a frame the patient will notice long after leaving the dispensary is the temple ear piece. If the patient sees a series of crimps rather than a smooth arc, it will reflect on your craftpersonship. They will be constantly reminded about the lack of care that went into making their adjustment. Step up your game. Reach for this plier every time you need to change the curve on an ear piece. A range of stepped Delrin plastic arcs aid you in easily achieving the most comfortable and individualized bend.

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.

#5075 – Injection molded plastic exterior for office use.

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." 

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" 

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."

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.