Tweezers advice?

[david]

Tcarpilot,

I bought a set of very nice tweezers from an Ebay company called RED ROOSTER UK. I don't know if they still carry the same brand I bought but it might be worth checking them out. At the time I only paid $30.00 for the entire set and they worked great.

david

[oldhippy]

You will soon find out if there decent quality when you use them. For that price I don't think they will last long.

[rogart63]

Nothing beats a good set of tweezers? I thought my cheaper Vetus tweezers where nice? Until i bought a set of Dumont. They are the best? 

[oldhippy]

I never bought anything other then Dumont.

[vinn3]

that tweezer shape is odd,  what is its purpose?

[oldhippy]

Otto Frei says there used for wire wrapping, forming and bending. I found them to be useful for holding clock bushings.  

[david]

The brand of tweezers I purchased from Red Rooster UK were called Stella Tweezers. They were very well made and have performed beautifully over the past several years. I also bought a set from Finding King called Moon Tweezers. The Moon tweezers had to be reworked with a sharpening stone in order to get them to work properly but the Stella tweezers worked perfectly right out of the pack. I don't know if Red Rooster still carries that brand or not. The only tweezer I was not able to find a less expensive substitute  for, was the Dumont #5. Other than that the Stella's have worked out just as well as my Dumonts.

david

[david]

Most tweezers are designed and manufactured for the medical and dental industries. The angled tips are useful in a restricted work space such as someone's mouth. The world has a lot more doctors and dentists than watchmakers. Some of the tools that watchmakers and jewelers use have been borrowed from other industries.

david

[digginstony]

Whilst engaged in another thread a question kept coming to mind but it didn't really belong there. So I'll ask here.

With tweezers do you prefer stainless steel or high quality carbon steel ? Or do people not really care.

My own preference is carbon steel because it will retain its shape well and when "stressed" is easily corrected, which is not the case with stainless

 

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[Cad101]

Stainless for disassembly Brass for assembly thats my preference.

[digginstony]

Stainless for disassembly Brass for assembly thats my preference.

I can see why you would do that. Stainless incase something doesn't come out or off the way it should and brass minimising risk of scratches and damaged to tweezers. That's very clever ! I will adopt this myself with my brass tweezers.
Many thanks for your reply

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[Folkvisor]

I never thought to use brass for reassembly....good idea.

 

[vinn3]

brass or plastic for electrical work AND steel for  magnetic handeling

Quote

 

 

[SeikoWatch]

' stressed tweezers !! ' why ? Because in my personal sense, you do not raise a brick or you do not squeeze a piece out of hand? For the sorts of metals concerning the tweezers, I imagine that everyone makes use of what he has provided that they are not magnetised. Finally, if we take care of our tools, I can easily imagine that we should not be forced to twist our tweezers. On the other hand, for screwdrivers, it is different because I saw tons of watchmakers On Youtube that work poorly and do not take the proper size of screwdriver for different screws ... I do not know much about watchmaking but my tools, I take care of it

[digginstony]

' stressed tweezers !! ' why ? Because in my personal sense, you do not raise a brick or you do not squeeze a piece out of hand? For the sorts of metals concerning the tweezers, I imagine that everyone makes use of what he has provided that they are not magnetised. Finally, if we take care of our tools, I can easily imagine that we should not be forced to twist our tweezers. On the other hand, for screwdrivers, it is different because I saw tons of watchmakers On Youtube that work poorly and do not take the proper size of screwdriver for different screws ... I do not know much about watchmaking but my tools, I take care of it [emoji6]

In this context it refers to the ability to retain shape under normal and unforseen circumstances.
Cheap steel has no flexibility to return to shape so constant maintenance would be required.
English gunmakers prefer a mild steel (EN21) in their gun barrels! Though this quality steel enjoys a great deal of flexibility to return to shape even when pushed beyond its normal working pressure. Due to faulty ammunition.
German makers tended to use a much harder steel. Though could shatter with fatal consequences when pushed beyond its normal working pressure. This rarely happened .
It's all a question of getting the right balance.

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[Folkvisor]

My cousin is a gunsmith. He uses all kinds of small tweezers; there's lots of small parts in a gun. 

I was was telling him about having problems with watch springs flying across the room and he said, "You too!?"

 

[digginstony]

Or to be specific with tweezers employing cheap steel. They would have to be much thicker than tweezers using a quality steel to retain there shape and generally are clumsy.

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[digginstony]

My cousin is a gunsmith. He uses all kinds of small tweezers; there's lots of small parts in a gun. 
I was was telling him about having problems with watch springs flying across the room and he said, "You too!?"
 

That's funny [emoji2]

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[RyMoeller]

I've used brass and carbon steel exclusively.  The brass tweezers are used about 95% of the time but they require a bit of maintenance since brass is soft and prone to deform.  The carbon steel come in handy for the real precision work but they will scratch parts quite easily and are prone to magnetism.

Eventually I'll expand my kit and probably add a set of stainless tweezers.  I'm hoping there will be a few more people piping in regarding the pros and cons of stainless tweezers in this thread. 

[Folkvisor]

All I can advise is to buy good quality tweezers. The cheap ones are cheap for a reason. 

[SeikoWatch]

Well, now i understand the differences   but but for the watches, no need to stress a tweezers  ....Thanks guys for the reply

[digginstony]

Well, now i understand the differences [emoji6]  but but for the watches, no need to stress a tweezers  ....Thanks guys for the reply [emoji6]

You'll find the most experienced watchmaker will need to re-shape (Dress) his tweezers and they apply their craft to this in a most proficient and expert way and is an essential skill that needs to be learnt. [emoji4]

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[Cad101]

I dress mine every week especially the gripping surfaces I grip a file between the ends and gently move the file this gives the tweezers more grip.

Check this video its very informative.

 

Edited February 21, 2017 by Cad101

[rogart63]

Love my new Dumont Titanium tweezers? So light. And not that sensitive for bending. Can ping a few screws if you press to hard on them. But once you master that i no problem: Great for working quartz and the don't get magnetic. Bought a 5 and  a 2. Dressed the 5 sharp tip a little as it was like a needle  

[rodabod]

Carbon steel tweezers can be glass-hard. My stainless Dumonts are softer and still get magnetised slightly anyway. I also have their "Dumostar" versions which are very hard, to be fair. 

As already mentioned, dressing them is very important, including giving the insides a slightly co**BLEEP** finish to provide grip.