Knipex tweezers - different product under same number - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2022, 07:02:19 pm
content: I've been using Knipex tweezers for a long time. Couldn't be happier with quality and the price is ok (in contrast: Wiha - who is also a reputable company - make totally shit tweezers).I recently decided i need a new pair of straight tweezers (i use 92 28 69 ESD, they usually last about 2 years) so I ordered some from TME. Imagine my surprise when I got a different product. Ok, mistakes happen....? No, it has the correct number, and Knipex website confirms that this is how the product should look like right now. The quality is also perfectly ok, but it's totally different: 10m shorter, the back is profiled differently, instead of being painted it seems to have some thick coating (probably powder coated), the nose is thicker and has wider angle which makes it awkward to use in tight spaces.I can see that some other products from the family have been altered as well. That's fine, every company has to redesign stuff from time to time... But the the hell don't they give it a new product number and instead mislead customers? Or maybe I'm weird when i expect to get the same product when I order the same product number?

author: metrologist
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2022, 07:16:21 pm
content: Does it weight less? It looks like it weighs less. Probably some bean counting manager worked the ROI on a project to redesign the tweezer to remove some direct material cost, will break even in less than a year, and be eligible for a bonus when profit margins come in.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2022, 07:28:37 pm
content: Knipex has been reengineering some of their tools presumably to make them less expensive to produce. If the quality isreallyoff, I might suspect a counterfeit.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2022, 07:49:05 pm
content: Quote from: jfiresto on May 18, 2022, 07:28:37 pmTME would presumably order their goods directly from Knipex and not sell counterfeit stuff. That's not AliExpress ...

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2022, 07:49:42 pm
content: I got it from TME. AFAIK they are an authorized distributor so I wouldn't expect a fake. Also, the markings and the coating do seem more expensive than the previous version, but maybe I'm wrong - not an expert on metal processing. The new ones seem embossed or something, old type was just screen printed.The quality seems fine. I have some doubt about the coating. If that is powder coated then this might be a dud, considering that those are often used with a hot air gun.Also this being a tool used sometimes for hours in a day, it just has to feel comfortable, and I really don't like the feel of the new ones, also they are too short... Probably gonna go back to Xytronic since they cost like a 1/4 of Knipex and they ARE still the same product as they were 12 years ago.Again, I wouldn't be mad if they just discontinued the old ones and introduced a new product. But this is a srewup

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 18, 2022, 07:58:01 pm
content: Knipex does change the tools while keeping the same part number. For example this Pliers Wrench

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2022, 08:00:14 pm
content: Well that's is a shitty practice then and a nasty surprise for a customer just wanting same, proven product.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2022, 09:27:03 pm
content: It looks like they redid the whole series. To them probably the only thing that matters is the shape of the tip.https://www.ebay.com/itm/325165701580Maybe you can look at this series instead:https://www.ebay.com/itm/224959397453There is no reason to get the "ESD" version that I can see.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2022, 06:57:30 am
content: Quote from: janoc on May 18, 2022, 07:49:05 pmI once ordered a Knipex crimping die from Reichelt Electronik, a midsize, well established distributor, and received a die that among other curiosities, sat loose in the tool frame and had chromed working surfaces that were much more shiny than hard. Perhaps it had been a customer return. The plastic box it came in was unsealed, had a poorly printed label and would not fully close over the die. I returned it with a list of operational deficiencies and left it to Reichelt to decide if the die was genuine or not. (I did not think that was my department.)

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2022, 03:08:33 pm
content: I think this means there are features that they deem are aesthetic only but are really not aesthetic only.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2022, 03:15:23 pm
content: best tweezers : Regine / venus . made in switzerland. Farnell carries them.https://www.regine.ch/products.php?subid=2&lang=E&Tq=V&Taf=G&Tbase=43&twpg=3this hook style is ideal to hold little parts while soldering them down.

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2022, 09:37:32 pm
content: Quote from: free_electron on May 19, 2022, 03:15:23 pmI can't find them in Farnell. In general I can't find anybody who carries them and regine.ch doesn't list any distributors.I used to use curved tweezers (Xytronic 7-SA) but now prefer straight ones. Well, regardless, I have like 15+ different tweezers. Surgical tissue (as in: flesh, not paper tissue) holders (looks like a tweezer with vampire teeth as the end) is great for pulling out THT parts.

author: TERRA Operative
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2022, 12:26:41 am
content: Quote from: free_electron on May 19, 2022, 03:15:23 pmDoes their website actually have pictures of pizza, or is that just me?

author: BBBbbb
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 24, 2022, 06:58:37 am
content: Quote from: TERRA Operative on May 24, 2022, 12:26:41 amYup, and I am puzzled as you.

author: metrologist
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2022, 08:22:48 am
content: I wonder if it's some subliminal influencing resulting in a bump in sales. I mean, now I want pizza but I'm not going to get some. I can, however, satisfy my neediness right there by buying some tweezers. Satisfaction.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2022, 03:26:40 pm
content: My favorite everyday electronics tweezers are the Erem (now Weller) OODSA. They’re sturdy, but above all (and unlike any other brand of OODSA tweezers I’ve found), the tip serrations are cross-hatched, rather than just parallel grooves, which IMHO makes them grip things more predictably at any angle. They, too, are made in Switzerland.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2022, 03:28:57 pm
content: Quote from: poorchava on May 18, 2022, 07:02:19 pmOdd. My fine tweezers are Wiha and they’re excellent.