A needle bender for custom bending of needles to different desired needle bend radii is provided. The needle bender can include abase and a shaper coupled to the base through a support member. The shaper may have a plurality of grooves corresponding to different desired needle bend radii. A leverage arm with a needle slide disposed on one end may be rotatably coupled to the support arm. When a needle is inserted along the base into one of the grooves in the shaper and at least partially into the needle slide, the leverage arm can be actuated toward the base to thereby bend the needle to the desired needle bend radius. The needle bender may also include a lock plate between the base and the shaper that can be actuated toward the shaper to further secure the needle to the shaper.