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2 minutes ago, chrisdt said:

Still think the chinese copy of the Bergeon 5700 is the best value for money.

Yes it is. But the alternatives above have the advantage of being more compact, or simpler to use without removing the band, and more economical.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm an on AliX shopping spree. The regular size opener came today, $10 round with quick (18 days) shipping.
Good quality, tight action, it's made of machined plates of some alloy, not stamped/plated one. Tip retainers are a flat spring, not ball and spring (which can pop out).  I had to slightly reshape one square tip.
BTW, I have learned that Chinese tools are not all the same. My opener came branded as Chainda, which is the equivalent of Bergeon, redistributing products of better quality from other factories. But in this case the original manufacturer leaves their marking on the product.

china-2688-Watch-repair-tools-triangle-open-back-cover-tools-can-open-the-maximum-of-36mm.png

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I'm an on AliX shopping spree. The regular size opener came today, $10 round with quick (18 days) shipping.
Good quality, tight action, it's made of machined plates of some alloy, not stamped/plated one. Tip retainers are a flat spring, not ball and spring (which can pop out).  I had to slightly reshape one square tip.
BTW, I have learned that Chinese tools are not all the same. My opener came branded as Chainda, which is the equivalent of Bergeon, redistributing products of better quality from other factories. But in this case the original manufacturer leaves their marking on the product.
china-2688-Watch-repair-tools-triangle-open-back-cover-tools-can-open-the-maximum-of-36mm.png.d8faab32028c26fad0db6eec90cd22de.png

Where is the link so I can buy one!


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1 hour ago, jdrichard said:


Hey, thanks. Plus, usually free shipping:) I live in Canada.


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    "spend it while you got it" !  i am still trying to find the double handled one.  a good investment till the next crash.  vin

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On 10/30/2019 at 6:24 PM, vinn3 said:

  does Cousins  have a store in the U S ?

We aren't talking about a multinational.
They apply actual shipping cost, and you don't pay any customs fees. Hard to do better than that.

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On 10/14/2019 at 5:32 PM, jdm said:

Here's the new one I was waiting for, I have received it today for $33. DSC_0073.thumb.JPG.8782fee99f70fd01a32ee52f3172b06a.JPG

I can now vouch that it works very good and it's worth its price. Opened a tight Vagary (Citizen) in 10 seconds, which has so many ugly scarves from failed attempts. 

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The issues I had with two different Jaxa copies was that there was slight play in the bit holders. This isn't a good thing when working on more expensive watches. The Swiss ones by Wit or Bergeon (same fabricator) don't have excessive play.

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6 hours ago, rodabod said:

The issues I had with two different Jaxa copies was that there was slight play in the bit holders.

Check if they have a ball and spring retainer (bad) as opposed to a flat spring (good) as mentioned above. 

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This holder block is an absolute winner for $1.31. Sturdy as hell, 10 times better than the ones with the 4 round posts that alway bend and pop out.

The lever below it has the same small price, I haven't tried it yet but looks like can pry strongly when inserted. 

DSC_0105-800x600.JPG

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This holder block is an absolute winner for $1.31. Sturdy as hell, 10 times better than the ones with the 4 round posts that alway bend and pop out.
The lever below it has the same small price, I haven't tried it yet but looks like can pry strongly when inserted. 
DSC_0105-800x600.JPG.a6fa6574af6105f3ef255039f41dfbd4.JPG

Please post a link to one of these, or tell me where you found it. Google is not my friend, all I can find are the 4-round-post-that-pop-out kind. Thank you!


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2 hours ago, bobo383 said:

Please post a link to one of these, or tell me where you found it. Google is not my friend, all I can find are the 4-round-post-that-pop-out kind. Thank you!

No sweat, https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32854299738.html
May I suggest that that you don't include pics when quoting. As it makes the topic more cumbersome to read. 

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On 11/7/2019 at 7:19 PM, jdm said:

Check if they have a ball and spring retainer (bad) as opposed to a flat spring (good) as mentioned above. 

I had a look, and all the the Swiss ones have a round spring and ball which retains the bits. However, there is no play here as the bits are almost an interference fit in the bit holders. The cause of the play that I found was in the threaded rods and bit holders which are held between two plates.

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21 hours ago, rodabod said:

I had a look, and all the the Swiss ones have a round spring and ball which retains the bits. However, there is no play here as the bits are almost an interference fit in the bit holders. 

Good, but isn't so on the Chinese ones, the ball can even pop out and get lost as happened to mine, that's the reason for my criticism.

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  • 1 month later...

Somebody wasn't happy with the size of the Bergeon order, and decided to move some product in the grey market :-)

Or it's an out and out fake. 

Both happen, I hear complaints about these things all the time.

Turn about is fair play, at one time it was the Swiss who were doing this to American watches and products!

Edited by dadistic
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  • 6 months later...
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On 10/10/2019 at 11:31 AM, jdm said:

I began taking work from a local jeweler and finding again that fashion watches can be surprisingly hard to open and close, so I decided to refresh my weaponry a little.

First, the oversize Jaxa tool. I have a bench opener but I'm too lazy to use it on every time.

PA101002.thumb.JPG.49aeec0d4e93d3ad4cf20ea108652339.JPG

It is built well and tight, with no play. The screws are fine thread and allow precise adjustment. Inserts are held by a flat spring instead of a lousy ball, and include the most used square tips - which is not a given with other types. Very happy about it for  $12.88, and will get the regular size from the same brand.

PA101003.thumb.JPG.5ca392827be4e873158739287b56fd82.JPG

Then the Japanese style openers, all the four types. Getting the original Seiko wouldn't have broken the bank but I decided to give these a chance for just $7.61 and receiving in the relatively short time of 2 weeks and an half. I think the rounded tips are good for safety but one may use a bit more grip by flattening it.

I have more coming and will add to this thread. 

 

Would you min do let me know where you got this set of knives?

And by $7.61 do you mean for all four of them?

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