i've done some work in 14 gauge stainless. but doing jewelry i would assume your going a little thinner. but i used standerd craftsmen needle nose with the handles double dipped in "tool dip" over the grip that comes on the pliers. if your not familiar with "tool dip" its basicly a heavy liquid latex dip. you can get it at most hardware stores. two dips soften the grip up so its not so hard on the hands....

I use several types (often, it's the 'whatever's handy' type) for sterling. Due to the relative softness, it takes tooling marks pretty easily. If I want to make sure I don't get tool marks on the stuff, I get the ones that have replacable plastic jaw inserts. I've also found that loop-closing pliers can be darned handy for chainmail, especially for correcting rings that go out-of-round.

As for cushioned grips on the pliers, I think the best in custom fit is probably achieved with Jett-Set

sorry so late, but I use two types of pliers, i gots me some cheapies / minis, bent nose needlenose, from odd lots, for the wee wee small rings, like, an eight of an inch, etcetera....... but i splurged totally and got myself some "P36 ignition pliers" at NAPA. seventeen bucks a pop. But it means free pliers for LIFE, whether i drive my car over them or whatever, just turn em back in. plus, they are handy in a million other uses too.

I am a Craftsman (snipurl.com/1xq9c-maille) plier fan. I make them available in my classes and I buy them whenever they're on sale. I buy the "mini pliers" since they have that nice ergo handle (like some more expensive pliers) and I've been using them for ages. And, since they're craftsman, they're guaranteed for life - just take the broken set to your closest Sears and voila you get a new pair.

I do not find them uncomfortable, and I do work links for hours at a time. I did get shoulder strain, but that was from bad posture, now that I have a *nice* chair that's gone.

My Grandfather was an auto mechanic and he passed on a good quick cheap fix for padding tool handles. He would get some cotton Clothing line (The kind you use to hang up your clothing to dry on outside) and put some glue on his tool handles, then wrap the cloths line around the handles. In his day they didn't have Hot glue. With Hot glue you can do this quickly.

Advantages of this are. A soft sweat absorbent handles that's easy to hold on to. Once the handles becomes to soiled due to sweat and body oils you simply strip them off and replace them for penny's.

On some of my pliers I even used this method to put a spring on the inside of the handle to pop them open and a lanyard around one handle so I can fully open my hand to grab links without dropping my pliers.

As to brands. I prefer the Stanley ones that have parallel jaws in one hand and a Vice grip in the other. the vice grip gives you excellent leverage on heavy gages as you have no doubt found out.

I hope I explained this clear enough, I hope this helps.