New tool for arthritic hands!
 

My roommate assembles cable so she is my tool expert. She also suffers from arthritis in her hands. I noticed her using a pair of unique pliers to pick threads after we'd ripped out a large section of piecing. I was so impressed with their performance, she bought me a pair for Christmas. They will pick up a single stitch, or thread laying on a granite surface, or any tiny detail required like holding needles or pulling needles through thick fabric. They are spring loaded, so make quicker work of picking loose thread than fingers, with much less muscle fatigue. We found them at Home Depot but they only come in a set with a pair of cutters. Still, the set is only around $10. I have bought them for family members who can no longer do the pinched finger thing, one from arthritis, one from a stroke. I just had to share our find with the wonderful members of this board.

I have those too. My husband gave them to me from his tool box. He is a retired appliance repairman. He also gave me a telescoping magnet that is wonderful to pick up dropped pins. It looks like a screwdriver with a circle on the end. I can't always see the pins on the carpet, but the magnet gets them right up. I love gadgets!

Mine aren't the same as yours, but they are my saving instruments. Needle nose plers, straight and bent nose sit right beside my sewing machine. A tiny rachet set (found by my husband) means I don't have to call him to get my bobbin plate off. All my scissors are spring loaded. Gardening gloves (tight fitting and with little rubbery bumps) are a must... I simply can't grip well enough to manipulate fabric without them. My cutting ruler has a handle that is wide and lets me push down and cut w/o risk to myself. If I am quilting a full size quilt DH helps me manipulate the "roll".

Carry on! We can overcome!!!!

Great suggestions - and what a help to those with issues. My Mom has essential palsy (hands shake) we just found her a set of weighted silverware. Her hands no longer shake when she eats.

Great to know. Wrote down info put in purse and will go to lowes or home d next trip to town! Thanks!

Thanks for the tip. We're going to Home Depot this weekend.

Kind of OT, I'm afraid. I love the block your pliers are laying on!! Where'd you find that cat fabric? I'm a cataholic! I love tools too and have found several that I got when I was tinkering with vintage machines that are great now with sewing. Will have to check out those pliers...they sound great! Also, re the telescoping magnet wand, I got mine in the auto dept at Walmart. Just found it again after many months of being missing (the wand, not me!) and it is great for picking up pins or anything metal since I tend to drop things a lot!

Great Christmas gift for friend with arthritis... & me, too.

Great tool for picking out those little threads. I use one of those old fashion sticky rollers, to pick up loose threads I find them at yard sales. My friend uses wide masking tape to remove them. These pliers would be much better on those pesky threads that are left over after the sticky swipe. These pliers are on my christmas list. Thanks for the hint. Love repurposing gadgets!!

What a great idea for those of us with carpal tunnel and/or arthritis of the hands. I'll be checking these out the next time I go to Lowe's.

Do the compression gloves I've seen at JoAnn Fabrics help with arthritis in the large joint at the base of the thumb? They are kind of spendy if they don't offer any relief...

No they don't seem to help me. But the gloves are great for the RA in the rest of my hands.

The only thing that helps my thumb is a thumb splint ( from Walgreens). and a special cream prescribed by my rhumetologist.

Thanks for letting us know about those useful tools. After years of being a secretary I suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, as well as rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, so I appreciate finding out about the tools that are out there. Thanks for sharing the information.

Love these helpful tips, thanks for sharing.

Fiskars makes scissors with springs in them, so all you have to do is squeeze them in order to cut. Plus the handles are padded so easy to use.

I never heard of this kind of silverware - going to check it out and get some for my hubby who suffers from the same thing. Thanks for your tip:thumbup:

The needle puller that I have used for hand quilting split down the metal strip and I had bent it back in place so many times, it wuldn't work any more. I had a pair of slant tweezers nearby and tried using that as a needle puller. It worked!!! I got them at a dollar store for $1.00. I tied a string of ribbon through the center and then around the closed end and can put them around my neck for a handy place to have them.
Have you tried putting caster oil on your hands? I have used it on one of my knees that gets tight and doesn't want to bend. I had expected it to help there, but didn't think about my fingers that didn't want to bend easily. After a while, I noticed that the fingers on my hand that I used to apply the caster oil to my knee would bend easier. It's worth a try, it worked on my fingers, and just might help yours too. I find it near the laxatives in the drug area of stores.

What is the name of the little plier-like thingee Faygilmore? Will, also, have to look into the telescoping magnet. Thanks to all!

Yes I agree they're great. I use them in my counted cross stitch all the time but mine are a little smaller to fit my small hands and pick the tiny cross stitches. And I do have a larger set on my sewing table as well. Don't know what I would do without them.

needle nose pliers.

Thanks for the answer sewnut!

Thanks for the answer sewnut...very kind of you.

They look like jewelry making tools that I have. There are nice sets at Michael's or AE Moore for 40% off.

Thanks for sharing the helpful information about the use of this product.

Is the cream from your doctor diclofenac sodium...brand name Voltaren Gel? That certainly helps my joint at the base of my thumb. Good stuff!

That's exactly what I was going to say.....I gave a set of several small pliers such as this that I got from Michaels back from my jewelry making days. Hadn't thought about using them this way. Will have to pull them out and repurpose them.

Just an FYI - not all needle-nosed pliers are spring-loaded like the ones in this original post. I think that's why she liked them so much!

I too have severe arthritis in the bottom joint of my thumb! It is even twice the size of the other hand. I have had drs suggest surgery...no way! Yet I have found that a good DH or Chiropractor will pull on your fingers and pull the knuckles to pop....helps sooooo much. And no, popping your knuckles won't make them bigger! It helps them from freezing up in the joint. Take care

Thank you for the info about the needle nose pliers. I also have arthritic hands and especially bad thumbs so am always looking for useful tools. Another that I found was a screwdriver that I use to remove the 1/4 screws from the bed of my machine when I need to clean it. AThe company is MorKo Products or www.morkoproducts.com. Take a look you might see something that will help.
Also, I am going to look up weighted silverware as my brother's hands shake terribly. Again, thank you.

I found great tools in my husband's tool box too. He's a machinist, so he has every gadget imaginable. When we go to Home Depot or Sears I usually head for the tools section - so far I have bought compass, L-ruler, T-ruler, even the clamps to hold down the quilt when I'm putting the layers together on the table. I also use the beading tools since I have those.

Correct. I have several pairs of needle-nose pliers, even small ones, but these have an incredibly precise nose as well as the spring hinge. I have picked threads up off the granite bar with them. My fingers won't do that! The brand name on the handle is Crescent. Thanks for all the other cool ideas. I have a wand magnet. I never thought to bring it inside. I will now!

I have to watch as anything that takes pessure, such as having to squeeze tog. handles, is to difficult for me and I don't want flying scissors, know what I mean? If I loose my grip as I am trying to get control.

Marge, I, too, am a secretary and had CTS in both hands. I had the surgery in 2004 and have not had any problems since then. If your insurance will pay for it, I recommend you have it. I was off 4-weeks with each surgery, which were done back-to-back, but the CTS pain was gone in a couple days.

Thank you so much for sharing!

I have used Voltaren but the stuff I have now comes froma compounding pharmacy and really has no name. Called CDBCL. Has lidocaine, diclofenac sodium and a couple of other things,

I have a surgical tweezers that helps me pull threads out of he sewing machine or a cloth. I do not have arthritis but have carperal tunnel. I think it is te same idea as the pliers

Saw this post, and thought AHA! Don't know why I didn't think of it, but I have an applique block I'm working on, and this is "the cat's pajamas". The needle-nose pliers have already saved my poor fingers from damage