Description
Large Economy Tweezers are over 6 inches long needle-point steel tweezers that are competitively priced for creating mosaic art, which can be harsh on steel tools. These are a larger option for those who find our regular thumb tweezers too small or need something with extra length. The function is essentially the same: reducing tedium and frustration in positioning tiny tiles. We would not recommend doing mosaic work without some sort of tweezers, especially if using tile or pieces cut 3/8 inch or smaller. Sticks are fine for pushing materials around, but they can’t pick up tiles. Tweezers stay a lot cleaner than fingertips, which seem to get gummed up almost immediately. The needle-point tips of these tweezers are easily cleaned of drying glues by wiping on a shop rag.
Large Economy Tweezers
- steel tweezers
- needle point
- over 6 inches in length
- subject to rusting by thinset and grout
Mortars and Grouts Rust Steel Tools
Portland cement products like mortar and grout are mildly caustic and cause steel tools to rust faster than normal. The Large Economy Tweezers are steel and thus subject to this problem. You can delay and slow rusting by washing and drying your tools on a CLEAN rag after use. Never let your tools soak overnight. They can and will rust literally overnight. Use a brush to scrub invisible grout residue from the tools. After our tools are dry, we wipe them with shop rag from our garage toolbox. These garage rags have traces of oil on them, which is just what is needed to prevent rusting, but not so excessive that glues get contaminated next use.
How to Reduce Frustration
Tweezers make it infinitely easier to dip your tile in adhesive or thinset without contaminating your fingertips. They also makes it much easier to position the tile on the surface without messing up what you have already done. Most of the frustration of making a mosaic comes from accidentally bumping tiles that you have already positioned, and tweezers keep this from happening quite so often. The trivial cost of a basic pair of tweezers is the best money you can spend as far as reducing frustration. You will also be able to attempt more detailed designs than you would consider if using only your fingertips.
How To Make Mosaics
For more advice on designing your mosaic project or cutting and grouting tile, please see our Mosaic Frequently Asked Questions page or our How To Mosaic blog or our Mosaic Information Guide.
