Canvas Pliers

I'VE been stretching canvas for more than thirty-five years; it is not an easy job to do well. When I started stretching I used just my fingers, and when I started stretching a lot, I found canvas pliers to be a big help; but I would break up to six pairs a week. I found some types that were too hard to use, other's that just didn't work at all, many that hurt to use them, I taped my hands and wore padded gloves.

Finally, I started to design my own pliers. Over the years many customers and conservators gave their insights and helped with final design implementation. Now I've got the pliers to tackle any stretching job. And, by far, they are:

The World's Finest Canvas Pliers - Even Better!

All three of our canvas plier designs now fit in your hand even better. Our new comfortable handle grips are ergonomically-designed with a soft rubber top where the force of your hand engages. Plus a slightly longer handle gives you more leverage and more room to comfortably position your hand. The fulcrum is what really gives you the power, the lever action helps you really pull tight. You can maintain even tension with much more ease. When you release pressure, our pliers still spring open the machine-textured jaws. The jaws are also angled toward the front edge, leaving a gap at the back of the jaws for excess fabric. Plus some people have requested a locking mechanism, now all three models have one available.

I guarantee that you'll love these canvas pliers, and that they are guaranteed to last your whole lifetime." - John Annesley

To see how we recommend you stretch your own canvas click here.

Golden Artist Colors has a monthly online newsletter titled Just Paint. We recently found a James Bernstein article titled "A Remarkable Way to Stretch Canvases" that strongly recommends our canvas pliers (near the bottom of the article). James Bernstein is a nationally recognized Art Conservator.
Here's the link: Bernstein's article

Pliers Testimonial
Hello John, Several weeks ago I spoke with you on the phone and told you I was struggling with my new canvas pliers I purchased from you. After our conversation, I continued to struggle, and yesterday said "That's it. Something has to change." So after 30 + years of canvas stretching experience, I went online to youtube to watch some other folks. I watched two of your videos about stretching from the corners, and even though it was opposite of the way I've been working my whole life, I gave it a try. Holy crap! I just finished stretching the two most perfect, incredible canvases I've ever stretched in my life. And when finally used properly, your pliers worked like a dream. Thank you so much for teaching an old dog a new trick! Warm Regards, Edward Loedding, Brandon, Vermont

Click on any plier picture to ZOOM.

Three-inch Side-Tack Canvas Pliers

These canvas pliers are for traditional-style stretching where canvas is tacked to the side of the stretcher bars.

$125   (free shipping in U.S.)

Three-inch Wraparound Canvas Pliers

These canvas pliers are designed for wrapping fabric around the sides and tacking in the back of the stretcher. It works fine for primed or unprimed linen or cotton duck.

$125   (free shipping in U.S.)

Six-inch Wraparound Canvas Pliers

The third style of canvas pliers is a larger version of the three-inch wraparound pliers. It meets the specific need where people are working with very large supports. It takes more strength in these applications. We've found that it's best to stretch unprimed cotton duck in these instances.

$150   (free shipping in U.S.)