Very nice stuff !!!!!!!!!
Is the Knipex the Mechanics needle nose with cross hatch jaws?
Are the Sidchromes the same as Facom? It looks like!
no matter waht the brand is
Thanks! Yeah I think the Sidchromes are Facoms, I took off the plastic spring in all of them...I think they are more consistent and refined than the NWS, except the NWS cutter was more effective, it has a higher leverage action, and I remember I have used them already to cut through metal steering boot clamps on a recent rack overhaul. They are still like new and cut better than the Facoms which have yet to see action.
The Knipex are regular 200mm dipped long nose with cutter and regular teeth. Which Knipex as cross hatch pattern? I might buy a pair, was thinking of going to the Snap-On truck for the cross hatch long nose snappy pliers.
nws 109-69-180 play on joint about 0,7-0,9mm
never happened with my knipex
I have the 180 mm with comfort handles as well, that one, the joint was stiff and I had to work it till it was acceptable. One way I test pliers is to push one handle up and the other down whilst I open and close with both hands. then reverse the up down pressure on the handles and repeat. This checks the consitency with the joint. The 180mm, like yours was smooth in one direction and rough like sandpaper in the other. While it won't make a difference in action it will tell you about the production tolerances. All the NWS were inconsistent, some had a touch of play, others needed to be broken in because they were tight at first...others the handles rub against the joint to create friction and on the needle nose, the dipped coating at the bottom of the hing would pull on the handle creating a loud clicking noise. I removed the burr to fix that problem.
Fortunately for me, none of these issues present any operational differences in actual use...but it just goes to show, most Taiwan pliers have superior consistency than NWS.
I will eventually have a full range of dipped handle Knipex to compliment comfort handles, the Facom and NWS handles are both about the same and good for applying more pressure...but dipped handles give better clearance in tight quarters and better feel of the work load. So far my Knipex long nose have the better joint by a noticeable margin. Its a sample of one but none of the others were able to match, not to mention I have Japanes Fujya and Engineer pliers.
Its funny how I never would have cared for these small variances whilst I was on the floor I replaced a knipex side cutter when I lost it with a same size NWS and never a noticed a difference, under time pressure, one does not take the time to appreciate the finer points in engineering.
I find it weird that all my Ratchet's had a handled grip for grip and force when I was on the tools...but now with leasiure working on my own car (I never touched my own car as a mechanic) I want all my ratchets with a chrome shiny handle.
