HJL,
I’ve found that EZ jacks and an EZ crimper for RJ45 will let you visually confirm that you’ve put the right wires in the right place before crimping your connector end on; you can’t see them too well in regular RJ45 ends.
The crimp tool is like $50, and I’ve found that you waste less connectors due to how much better they work. Doing it the old way, you’d make a good connector and accidentally cut it too short, or you’d have the wires twist and then have a pair of wires that won’t work, causing you to cut the connector off and start over, which wasted it. Using EZ jacks is the best thing I’ve found since I started doing cable work in 2003. They aren’t cheap to purchase, yet you throw less of them out and make better quality cables by using them, so they are worth it to me.
Hopefully this info is helpful. – Fitzy