Tweezers

[sjhilbel]

My first question on the forum. I am a watch repair novice.

Tweezers are an essential for watch repair. Many are steel or another hard metal, but there are brass ones to prevent scratching.

Is there a reason to use both types? Why would you not use brass tweezers all the time?

[nickelsilver]

Many people use brass or nickel tweezers for pretty much all work except where finer or more specialized tweezers are necessary. Most professionals I know use brass/nickel for majority of their work. Not only are they less prone to mark parts, they are very easy and quick to dress, and being slightly soft compared to steel, they tend to hold parts better without them flying away.

[oldhippy]

Never used brass tweezers in my 30 years as a watch/clockmaker. I always used Dumont tweezers Antimagnetic Stainless Steel

[meanoldmanning]

I’m definitely a hobbyist hack, so keep that in mind, I find myself grabbing my brass tweezers more often than anything else.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dadistic]

I actually have some bronze tweezers,  for me they hold up a bit better than brass,  but have similar non-scratch qualities. 

But I am a non-professional, and I have to protect my poor watches from my clumsiness :-)

I think it's worth trying as many types as is feasible for you, it's interesting how different various tweezers can feel and behave as you use them. 

Tweezers inevitably fall pointy end down, bends the tips on brass every time, bronze sometimes, fancy steel usually survives. That's a good thing, as I don't relish the idea of trying to dress my Dumont #5's.

[sjhilbel]

This is all great advice. I will definitely be researching tweezers more. I have one tweezer that came with my "beginner kit". It is flat and feels very flimsy, so these recommendation will help my next purchase. Thank you!

[Klassiker]

Definitely brass for me (Dumont 1AM), for general handling. Very grippy and no chance of scratching steel parts. That's good for a part-time amateur like me. I've hardly used anything else since I bought them and even though I dropped them (pointy-end down of course) after two days, they were easy to straighten and file back into shape. I haven't tried bronze, but I imagine I would get on with them equally well. Steel I prefer for the fine-pointed (#4 and #5) tweezers I use when I (rarely) tackle a hairspring or suchlike. Brass is too soft and flexible. I try to avoid using tweezers of any sort when handling jewels.