PB SWISS TOOLS (PB 8121.1-80 : PH) The handle is failing - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Free_WiFi
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2019, 01:02:52 pm
content: I'm an owner of this screwdriver and i'm writing this topic to ask your opinion regarding this particular problem.Lately the handle of my screwdriver is self developing an strange smell and an fattish,oilysh touch sensation.Do you have any kind of ideas about why this is happening and also why i can't clean this off?PS:I also wish to say that my backup Pb swiss screwdriver is inside an nylon pack,it was never used(yet),so compared to the main one it's completely odorless and rough at the touch.

author: Zbig
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2019, 02:19:10 pm
content: The "handler" of your screwdriver is you. The thing you hold your screwdriver by is a "handle".

author: dmills
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2019, 02:47:07 pm
content: Plasticiser issue at a guess, PB are quite good about warranty replacements, I would get them to swap it.Regards, Dan.

author: duak
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2019, 01:57:18 am
content: Many tool handles are made from Cellulose Acetate Butyrate. Unfortunately, it can break down as you have seen. There are various causes; one is exposure to high temperatures. Another is poor processing at the factory.I have a few items that have this problem. Some people suggest cleaning with Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda), a toothbrush and water. It seems to have helped on the items I tried cleaning.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2019, 06:24:44 am
content: You’re thinking of the plastic that smells like vomit as it ages, but these aren’t made of that. The PB Swiss website (well,a PDF on it) says: “All electronic screwdriver handles are made of two components: The core consists of a particularly tough polypropylene. It is surrounded by a soft coating of Santoprene® that is also gentle on the skin.”

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2019, 07:54:19 am
content: Quote from: tooki on May 16, 2019, 06:24:44 amThat is why I avoid like a plague any item that has that "soft to touch" coating . Within a year or max two, ti starts falling apart, leaking oily residue and becoming sticky, until it becomes the consistency of contact glue in which case you can wipe it off with a Contact Spray and a wipe.. If you leave it on the sun, it falls apart within weeks, heat does it too...

author: Free_WiFi
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2019, 11:04:23 am
content: I don't understand why,but my screwdriver is leaking some substance exactly at the joint collar near the plastic main body inside.And i wish to add that this screwdriver is 1 year old.

author: plurn
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2019, 11:19:35 am
content: Is it weird that they both have the same serial number? Perhaps they are counterfeit?Never seen this brand in person so no idea if they usually have the same serial number or not.update:http://www.pbtools.us/uploads/Serial_Number_Traceability.pdfmaybe the serial number is the same per batch, so if both were purchased at the same time they could have the same serial number? It is not clear from that document.

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2019, 05:29:13 pm
content: PB Swiss does make CAB handle tools, they are in the catalog as "classic" variants. CAB is transparent, so it is clearly not the material in the tool pictured.Most likely the leaking substance is an adhesive that has depolymerized. This is a known problem with rubber based glues, when stored in high temperature and humidity environments.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2019, 07:21:33 am
content: Quote from: 2N3055 on May 16, 2019, 07:54:19 amSome soft-touch coatings, yes. But certainly not in a year or two, and certainly not Santoprene, which is basically the same stuff used for car door seals and the like, and stays soft and supple for decades even in light and heat.My oldest PB Swiss tools with the soft handles (Swiss Grip) are a good 4 years old now and still look and feel like brand new.

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 05:31:49 pm
content: Quote from: duak on May 16, 2019, 01:57:18 amThe old US made Xcelite brand screwdrivers were made of CAB and would develop that vomit like smell. They'd also get a whitish colored fuzz on them that looked like mold. I found that soaking them in full strength household grade ammonia would soften that coating and you could wash it off. You might have to soak and wash them several times to get off a heavy coating but it will come off. FWIW

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 06:33:34 pm
content: Certain silicone plastics decompose and sweat silicone oil. This has caused many problems with remote controls.This seems like it may be the same or similar problem.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 06:43:30 pm
content: Quote from: soldar on June 13, 2019, 06:33:34 pmWith remote controls it's completely different issue. Fat from hands seeps through the rubber and gets onto PCB contacts and washes out carbon from conductive rubber layer. Easy fix is always keeping them in transparent bag.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 07:07:56 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on June 13, 2019, 06:43:30 pmNope. Silicone oil is a well-known and well-documented issue which originates from poor manufacturing and nothing to do with hands.QuoteQuoteAlsohttp://www.michaelshell.org/gadgetsandfixes/keypadsiliconeoil.html

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 07:33:45 pm
content: ^Those are just assumptions without any backing. Look how that crap is present only under most commonly pressed buttons. Usually it can be cleaned easily within 30 seconds with detergent like Fairy or similar + toothbrush. If you place remote in a plastic bag afterwards, issue won't ever repeat. If it was issue with rubber, oil would continue to sip out. But if you continue to use it unprotected, it will repeat again and again. There just cannot be that much silicone oil in that rubber., Not to say it does not change it's elasticity or become sticky.BTW it's stupid assuming that if it's not easily cleaned with detergent = silicone oil. Just leave remains of vegetable oil on frying pan for a few weeks and it will become a very hard to clean sticky junk.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 07:40:28 pm
content: Here we go again?I give you several cites and you give me your opinion backed by nothing.Jeez.Really.Please.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 07:50:08 pm
content: BTW actual silicones are chemically stable and do not leak any silicone oils. If it leaks something, it's certainly not silicone.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 08:02:54 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on June 13, 2019, 07:50:08 pmLook, just stop it. You seem to enjoy going around the board looking for arguments with me and others. Just stop it. If you have better information please produce it but your opinion is worth nothing. Just stop arguing for the sake of arguing. The process of manufacturing the rubber membranes for remotes is well explained and documented. If you have cites supporting the contrary just produce them. You are just being annoying for the sake of being annoying.Quote

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 08:20:19 pm
content: I am not sure about the propriety of sharing a private email especially when you could just paraphrase that they are looking into it.Also, no need for tinyurl links which always look suspicious. Better put the real link so we know what we are clicking on.In fact, we probably don't need several threads to discuss your screwdrivers and it could all go in one thread.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 08:50:53 pm
content: Quote from: soldar on June 13, 2019, 08:02:54 pmSorry, but it's simply bullshit. There is no matrix or pockets.They are made from homogeneous material.Where is your oil and sponge? Oh BTW silicone oils do not evaporate easily, you cannot "bake them out".

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 09:23:24 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on June 13, 2019, 08:50:53 pmYou really need to go around the threads picking arguments with everybody?The fact that one process does or does not use silicone oil does not mean that no process does.Those keypads look nothing like remotes anyway.And since I have encountered silicone oil in a remote personally I know it is a fact.This manufacturer of silicone keypads offers curing/bakinghttp://www.primeproductsinc.com/spray-painted-laser-etched-silicone-rubber-keypad-singapore.htmlYou can tell them it is not necessary.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 09:31:58 pm
content: Quote from: soldar on June 13, 2019, 06:33:34 pmThough I also find the cited sources on silicone oil sweating questionable, it’s absolutely irrelevant to this topic, since we know precisely what material PB Swiss uses: Santoprene. And that’s not a silicone.Not that it matters anyway, since the OP is an idiot...