Tweezers advice?

[Stian]

I tried a lot of of different tweezers as I pinged parts much too often. This was before I fully realized the importance of holding the parts as gently as you can without dropping them. 

After trying steel, titanium and brass I came across bronze tweezers from Boley and I have never looked back. Bronze is so soft and nice with a great feel. Just perfect for me for most anything apart from hairspring adjustment where it's Dumont #5. 

Stian 

[harlantk]

This is an interesting and "Helpful" thread and I thank you as I am shopping for tools. From this thread I have gathered that I should get Dumont #2 and #5 in brass. For S.S. I could go then with #3 and another #5. Advice would be greatly appreciated as well.

I too am amazed at Mark's video's and how steady his hands are, his knowledge and techniques, awestruck best clarify's this.

I have been doing some practice on junk watches, and finding that other than my unsteady hands, I have issues with tweezers and parts "popping" out and sailing away. The tweezers I am using are not the best and have not been shaped yet for watch work.  I also am wondering if I am squeezing too hard on them. I have made a small bench to work with, making it so that I would have good posture from the height and plenty of light. Probably my Irish luck so all suggestions and thoughts on the things that make a good technique will be very much appreciated.

Limited budget so I am keeping this to 4 tweezers to start with.

Have a wonderful day folks and blessings

 

Tim

[Asmobrat]

I am using vetus tweezers but I haven't interrogated their quality at all...  Probably they're fake because i paid for them only $1 dollar... I don't know if it is necessary to get high quality tweezers....  Buy my budget is very limited... 

By the way i always make propaganda for cheap Chinese products on the forum. I am aware of that but it is not easy to live in a third world country, especially if you have lost your job... Everything is problem in such countries, you know... I need for your understanding...  Sorry for that... 

[noirrac1j]

Vetus are good....try to find Favorite, Erem or Dumont, which are really the best. Sometimes you can find these brands very inexpensively if they're used....all you have to do is file them up.

 

Joe

[Calibetimepiece]

Vetus quite famous and reliable nowadays.

[ajdo]

Few more question about Dumont tweezers before placing order.

 

1- While researching I read people preferring Dumont “brass” for certain tasks due to metal’s softness. For none-brass tweezers, should one choose DumonXel RC36 or harder DumoStar RC62 ?

 

2- Also, would one use “matte” rather than “polished” tweezers due to potential light reflexion or is it just a personal preference?

 

Lastly tweezers #3 & #5 have 2 different size specs.

 

Dumont #3 - straight tweezers sizes specs: 0.1/0.17mm vs 0.04/0.08mm

 

Dumont #5 - straight tweezers sizes specs : 0.06/0.1mm vs 0.01/0.05mm

 

3- Which specs for #3 and #5 are more adequate for watch repair ?

 

For information sharing, you will find Dumont straight tweezers specs sheet below:

 

https://www.dumonttweezers.com/Tweezer/TweezerStyleList/31

 

Thank you,

AJ

Edited June 14, 2019 by ajdo

[Kobus]

Are the recommendation for pocket watch tweezers different than for wrist watches.

So for arguments sake settle on no. 2 and 5 for wrist watches, what is the recommendation for pocket watches?

[jdm]

17 hours ago, Kobus said:

Are the recommendation for pocket watch tweezers different than for wrist watches.

So for arguments sake settle on no. 2 and 5 for wrist watches, what is the recommendation for pocket watches?

Get brass tweezers, cheap but great for general handling, won't scratch parts, are easy to shape and dress as needed.
I now use steel /specialized tweezers only when necessary.

[Klassiker]

2 hours ago, Kobus said:

Are the recommendation for pocket watch tweezers different than for wrist watches.

So for arguments sake settle on no. 2 and 5 for wrist watches, what is the recommendation for pocket watches?

I use the same size tweezers for handling wristwatch and pocket watch parts; 1AM brass. No.2 steel are also good for handling almost anything, as long as you are gentle. No.5 steel for tweaking hairsprings etc. but not for picking things up.

[Marc]

It boils down to personal preference.

If you have a light enough touch then No.5 and No.4 are fine for picking things up, but with a greater risk of things flying if you get a little heavier handed as the tips are more prone to flex. Also your No.5's won't last long if you do too much heavy lifting with them.

My go to tweezers are old carbon steel No.4's, some of which started life as No.5's but have been dressed so often that they are now effectively No.4's. I use these for handling screws, springs, and handling wheels by their steel pinions. For installing wire springs I use the same No.4's sometimes with a little assistance from some carbon steel No.2's. For handling plates, bridges, cocks, cut springs, and wheels where I'm handling the wheel rather than the pinion, I use brass No.3's. I also make extensive use of a couple of shaped brass rods of different diameters, and peg wood for handling and maneuvering parts. I haven't tried the acrylic swizzel sticks yet but I believe that they are very good.

The same set of tools does for everything from ladies wrist watch calibers through gents wrist and pocket watches up to desk clocks, and only gets bigger in scale if I need to use pliers.

[bojan1990]

I would always recommend buying some old high quality tweezers instead of new ones of less quality. Tweezers are extension of your hands, and this is job done with hands.

Just keep attention that the tweezers are in fair condition, I bought used Dumont 2, 3, 4 and 5 as a pack and got them cheaper. For the beginning, 3 and 5 should do the job pretty well though.

[StickDog]

I've had good luck with Viola tweezers made in Italy.  Quality and finish matches Swiss.  Some brass models.  Priced around $10 a pair new on flea bay.  Think you'll be pleasantly surprised by price and quality.

[jdm]

On 3/2/2021 at 4:01 PM, StickDog said:

I've had good luck with Viola tweezers made in Italy.  Quality and finish matches Swiss.  Some brass models.  Priced around $10 a pair new on flea bay.  Think you'll be pleasantly surprised by price and quality.

Indeed. Wonder if they're still in business? Got mine from a material house on the days they were closing down.

[NicholasG]

I’m looking to get the Dumont #5 tweezer but I’m confused on which one.

Dumostar $54.50,

Dumoxel $32.00

High Tech Non-Magnetic $21.00

 

[rodabod]

Number 5 is very fine and delicate. I wouldn't bother with standard stainless steel as it's too soft for this pattern in my opinion.

 

If you are going to do work on quartz watches then I'd get the Dumostar. If you are doing work on mechanical watches and don't require antimagnetism then I'd find a set of "original" carbon steel types as it is the hardest. I use both types.

[nickelsilver]

Dumostar is worth every penny in my opinion. The hold up 10x better than any other stainless non-magnetic tweezer.

[ifibrin]

Hello! I realized, as many others have, that steel tweezers have a reasonable chance of scratching bridges and mainplates despite being quite careful, so I bought some Bergeon Brass tweezers, which cost substantially more than the steel Bergeon tweezers. Now, the brass tweezers do not scratch the bridges and mainplates as much during handling, but you can still sometimes scratch the edges of bridges if you grip them by the tip of these brass tweezers.

I was wondering if minimizing brass tweezers scratching bridges and mainplates is down to user technique, or do you have to polish the edges of the brass tweezers until completely smooth? Also, I noticed that Bergeon does also carry what it calls as nickel tweezers (7420-PM-S5), although it contains copper, nickel and zinc, and is actually nickel silver/ German silver. Would this nickel tweezers be less likely to scratch bridges and mainplates, or face the same issues as brass tweezers?

[Zero]

3 hours ago, ifibrin said:

Hello! I realized, as many others have, that steel tweezers have a reasonable chance of scratching bridges and mainplates despite being quite careful, so I bought some Bergeon Brass tweezers, which cost substantially more than the steel Bergeon tweezers. Now, the brass tweezers do not scratch the bridges and mainplates as much during handling, but you can still sometimes scratch the edges of bridges if you grip them by the tip of these brass tweezers.

I was wondering if minimizing brass tweezers scratching bridges and mainplates is down to user technique, or do you have to polish the edges of the brass tweezers until completely smooth? Also, I noticed that Bergeon does also carry what it calls as nickel tweezers (7420-PM-S5), although it contains copper, nickel and zinc, and is actually nickel silver/ German silver. Would this nickel tweezers be less likely to scratch bridges and mainplates, or face the same issues as brass tweezers?

I use the Bergeon brass tweezers as well, I really love it for small parts and general use. i think it is actually manufactured by Dumont. But it is slightly softer, and the large/heavy parts (eg. bridges/barrels) may dent it ever so slightly. Also the parts may still get scratched in the process anyway. Brass tweezers may be overkill for handling large parts.

So what I actually do is I switch to an ultra cheap PVC/silicone tipped tweezers (from AliEx) for large parts, you can bend it to make it work better for you. The PVC tips makes it so much easier to grip these large parts, and is chemically inert. I even modified one just for picking up dials by holding it at the edges.

Edited August 1, 2021 by Zero

[ifibrin]

14 minutes ago, Zero said:

I use the Bergeon brass tweezers as well, I really love it for small parts and general use. i think it is actually manufactured by Dumont. But it is slightly softer, and the large/heavy parts (eg. bridges/barrels) may dent it ever so slightly. Also the parts may still get scratched in the process anyway. Brass tweezers may be overkill for handling large parts.

So what I actually do is I switch to an ultra cheap PVC/silicone tipped tweezers (from AliEx) for large parts, you can bend it to make it work better for you. The PVC tips makes it so much easier to grip these large parts, and is chemically inert. I even modified one just for picking up dials by holding it at the edges.

Hello fellow Singaporean!

Now that you point it out, the small scratches on the edges of my brass tweezers may be from the large parts denting the brass tweezers! But the brass tweezers also can scratch the bridges and mainplate if you handle them wrongly, although to a much less degree than steel tweezers.

I like your PVC idea. Maybe I can make some plastic sleeves for my tweezers? The dial handling tweezers are a fantastic idea.

[oldhippy]

Have a look at this for tweezer advice. Kalle has some excellent videos I suggest you subscribe to his channel you won't be disappointed.  

 

[Zero]

1 hour ago, ifibrin said:

Hello fellow Singaporean!

Now that you point it out, the small scratches on the edges of my brass tweezers may be from the large parts denting the brass tweezers! But the brass tweezers also can scratch the bridges and mainplate if you handle them wrongly, although to a much less degree than steel tweezers.

I like your PVC idea. Maybe I can make some plastic sleeves for my tweezers? The dial handling tweezers are a fantastic idea.

Hi!

I came up with the dial tweezers solution because I accidentally knocked off a tiny lume pip on the edge of one of my dials.

Plastic sleeves will work. Generic plastics may not be as robust as PVC though, which is supposedly chemically inert. I have seen junk watch parts create perplexing dents in my plastic containers. I'm assuming the oils caused the corrosion, as I didn't clean them before storage.

[jdm]

9 hours ago, ifibrin said:

Now, the brass tweezers do not scratch the bridges and mainplates as much during handling, but you can still sometimes scratch the edges of bridges if you grip them by the tip of these brass tweezers.

Maybe you can check out bronze tweezers. I don't know if these have been discussed in this topic but they have a reputation among demanding tools users. 

[Plato]

Wood tipped tweezers?

[LittleWatchShop]

I have lots of vintage tweezers and have been primarily using a Dumont #3.  Have been very happy with them but I had to dress them a little.  They are not perfect.  So, it is Christmas, so I treated myself to a brand new pair of Dumont #3.

First impression:  Not as good as the vintage tweezer.  Action is harder. Relaxed spread is greater, so you have to squeeze further to close.  They are nice and pointed, so that is nice.

I hope my opinion changes.  Of all tools, tweezers are the most personal because of the delicate feedback you get as you are picking something up.

 

[LittleWatchShop]

On 12/26/2021 at 3:29 PM, LittleWatchShop said:

Relaxed spread is greater

Vintage Dumont on the left, brand spank'n new Dumont on the right.