HF Safety Wire Pliers

[OctaneMotorsports]

I was looking at these 6" safety wire pliers from Harbor Freight:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45340

Now, I don't really like the idea of Harbor Freight, and I don't really like the idea of Chinese tools in general. But, the only other ones I can get locally would be close to $100 (Snap On). For the amount I use them, these are probably my best bet. Normally I would just go to the store and look at them, but we don't have Harbor Freight in Canada. So, I am wondering if anybody has any opinion on these? I was also wondering if anybody would be willing to buy a set of these and ship them to me? I would obviously pay for them, shipping, and some extra for fuel and for your trouble. Let me know, thanks.

[tweety652]

I was looking at these 6" safety wire pliers from Harbor Freight:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45340

Now, I don't really like the idea of Harbor Freight, and I don't really like the idea of Chinese tools in general. But, the only other ones I can get locally would be close to $100 (Snap On). For the amount I use them, these are probably my best bet. Normally I would just go to the store and look at them, but we don't have Harbor Freight in Canada. So, I am wondering if anybody has any opinion on these? I was also wondering if anybody would be willing to buy a set of these and ship them to me? I would obviously pay for them, shipping, and some extra for fuel and for your trouble. Let me know, thanks.

hi i got a set of these from jcwhitney and they worked great. i used them at a containerboard plant i used to be a mechanic at and not once did i have any problems. just go to jcwhitney.com and check it out. they should be able to ship them to you. if you really want the harbor freight ones they are just 2-3miles from me so i could get them if you want . personally i think jc,s are better.

[OctaneMotorsports]

No, I just want decent quality for a relatively low price. I'll check those guys out, thanks.

[OctaneMotorsports]

I just checked those guys out, and they don't appear to ship to Canada. Tweety, where are you located?

[eschoendorff]

Oh geez wait til Kartracer gets wind of this one... he has a sort of story about those HF safety wire pliers...

[tweety652]

I just checked those guys out, and they don't appear to ship to Canada. Tweety, where are you located?

im in edinburg tx. if you look at a map its down at the tip of tex. im about 10 miles north of the mex. border.

[Charles (in GA)]

I had a set of the china made knockoffs of the 6" Milbar safety wire twisters, they were supposedly American made (Wright tool branded) but found out they were Chinese. Turned out to be pure junk. I use them every day. Finally bought a set of Milbar manufactured ones with reverse and the "tiger wave" jaw that doesn't nick/damage the wire when you bite down on it.

The Harbor freight ones you link to are advertised as 6" yet the specs clearly show the length as 8-1/2" which is more the size of the common "9 inch style" of these pliers.

Charles

[kartracer55]

Oh geez wait til Kartracer gets wind of this one... he has a sort of story about those HF safety wire pliers...


Haha

I own them, and they suck. There was a big jump between the 10$ hf and 80$ US made ones. Looking back I probably should have just spent the cash, and I eventually will.

Anyway, they function, but they are a pain in the ass to use. The spiral shaft looks like it was (actually it probably is) cast steel, so its not very smooth at all. The joint on the pliers is TOO tight, everything else has a horrible fit. The locking mechanism sucks and the seration on the jaws is practically non existant, so you cant get super tight twists on the wire, because they will just pull off. This, combined with the meed to pull super hard to get them to twist can create quite a few headaches. .032 wire is the absolute max for the 6 inch set.

Luckily, I use the safety pin style clips for pretty much everything on the kart now, so they are easy to remove and install. The only thing I really safety wire are the caliper bolts and other semi-permanent fasteners.

My verdict is either look for a higher quality import from Sunex or something, or find a quality used pair on ebay.

jim