Snap-On Pliers - Quality Issues?

[MonkeyGreaser]

9" Talon Grip™ Long Nose Slip Joint Pliers LN47ACF

I've just got a pair of these and like the profile, but can't help but notice the side to side wobble (on the axis of the pin between the two halves) such that sometimes the jaws do not align perfectly. Is this normal? Understand these are slip joints so some play is warranted but coming from knipex it feels like tolerances are less tight.

 

[shawhite]

Why not call snap-on and ask or stop a local driver and compare with a set he has on the truck

 

[2ndGearRubber]

The jaws cannot align perfectly in the positions that are the not the "tightest/narrowest" position, I believe as a function of trigonometry due the the angled jaws relative to the center pivot point. Mine in the widest position may have a tip offset of 1/8 inch.

I will 100% agree, there is some slop in the mechanism. These pliers do not like to grip something and then be rotated, it pulls the jaws apart from the center axis. I believe this is also a function of the slip joint itself, as I have regular needle nose from snap on and others that do not exhibit this behavior. The pliers looks like dime store junk when gripped on something and then rotated as the jaws want to slip apart. That said, I can grip hard enough to change drum brake springs with them, so it's a mixed bag.

 

[yellowbox]

I have 8 different types of their pliers and I am not impressed at all
I have had a few replaced , and they're worse than the originals
Sloppy , don't grip well without wanting to spread open
I like snapon but some of their stuff ain't that great

 

[2ndGearRubber]

I have 8 different types of their pliers and I am not impressed at all
I have had a few replaced , and they're worse than the originals
Sloppy , don't grip well without wanting to spread open
I like snapon but some of their stuff ain't that great

I just buy their specialty or super high use pliers.

The market is just so competitive and full of quality offerings.

 

[merkyworks]

I have 8 different types of their pliers and I am not impressed at all
I have had a few replaced , and they're worse than the originals
Sloppy , don't grip well without wanting to spread open
I like snapon but some of their stuff ain't that great

just asking.

What brand have you found that does have pliers that are to your liking?
Klein, Knipex, a Japanese brand?

 

[Danny Rig]

Created an account just so i could dunk on these pliers too. This amount of play cannot be normal. These are going straight back

 

[Gila Monster]

There's no reason to buy Snap On pliers and pay their absurd markup when Knipex is available (imo). You can buy 2 Knipex pliers for the price of one Snap On.

 

[Steve_P]

There's no reason to buy Snap On pliers and pay their absurd markup when Knipex is available (imo). You can buy 2 Knipex pliers for the price of one Snap On.

Snap On sells a LOT of unique plier designs that Knipex doesn't. SO primarily caters to the automotive market, duh, and Knipex does everything. I don't have any SO pliers, but SO has several that I'd love to have. Of course, Knipex has designs that SO doesn't. And so on. Most of my pliers are Knipex, then NWS, various Japanese brands, Channellock.... I prefer NWS for the basic choices, and their needlenose are beefier than Knipex.

Saying all of that, every major plier brand has quality complaints here. It's a tough tool to do perfect, because too tight and the joint is difficult to operate; slightly too loose and that's NG either. In addition, I'm sure Knipex is highly automated, but there is always going to be some human skill involved in the operation. Pliers are more difficult to produce "perfectly" than sockets, screwdrivers, hex keys.....

 

[AJHD]

There's no reason to buy Snap On pliers and pay their absurd markup when Knipex is available (imo). You can buy 2 Knipex pliers for the price of one Snap On.

Depends on the plier model. Some Knipex cost the same as a Snap On.

I have at least 8 Snap On pliers. I've had several more I traded or sold. I've never had any issues with any of them. Including LN47 and LN46.

I don't know what I've been doing differently than other people. I used various pliers all day every day as an automotive and heavy equipment mechanic.

 

[neophyte]

There's no reason to buy Snap On pliers and pay their absurd markup when Knipex is available (imo). You can buy 2 Knipex pliers for the price of one Snap On.

I have had a pair of Knipex Cobra pliers years ago that had jaws that closed skewed by a mm or so.
For the Cobra pliers, it didn’t really affect function.
It was sort of annoying though.