1. A peek at the plier jaws reveals the very crisp 90-degree angle of the concave jaw, which is the major dent-producing culprit when bending thicker stock.

2. The convex jaw has a severe drop-off on the edges that needs to be sanded, and it also doesn’t meet up perfectly with the lower jaw when the pliers are closed. To figure out where to make the adjustment, close the pliers tightly and draw lines along the seam where the jaws meet on both sides of the tool.

3. A Heatless Mizzy grinding attachment is great for rounding off the drop-off to the line drawn on both sides of the convex jaw of the tool, and also to grind off the sharp corners of the concave jaw.

4. Sand the ground areas smooth on both jaws by progressing through coarse and medium abrasive disc attachments. I like sanding discs for this task because they reach easily into the plier jaws and the brass-centered versions can be flipped over on the mandrel for reaching into tight spots without handpiece interference.

5. After sanding out all the ruts and scratches, switch to flexible abrasives, using a 240-grit wheel or cylinder to polish the sanded areas on both plier jaws.

6. The cylinder tip makes it easy to clean up the channel of the concave jaw.

7. Finally, burnish the plier jaws all over with a steel bristle brush, aiming for a very high polish.

8. Since I was there, I also lubricated the box joint with light machine oil (I use sewing machine oil for my hand tools) and cleared away any lingering abrasive dust with a cotton swab.

9. These before-and-after photos show the time invested in dressing pliers is well-spent. This patterned wire is no longer damaged or dented with ruts caused by too-sharp edges on the plier jaws.