New Snap Ring Plier Set at Harbor Freight

[seakaye12]

This is a new set for them; I have never seen it in the store before. The part # 63841 does not come up in a search on their web-site either.

In the past the quality of snap ring pliers at HF has been dismal at best; rather useless. I wonder if these are better? The box is sealed up so I couldn’t actually touch the tools.

Anyone know about them? I guess I should buy the set and give them a try. I can always return them.

The price for the 8 piece set is $49.99….$40.00 with the 20% off coupon. I’m tempted. I’ve wanted a nice set for a long time but I use them so seldom that I hate to pay for Snap-On or Knipex etc….

[reivertom]

I’ll go out on a limb here and say they are fine if you use them once a year, and need that tool. Most of their tools are OK if you really don’t use them hard. Some are better (or worse) than others and it’s a flip of a coin.

[fisherman6]

Those look pretty decent Chuck. I have not seen these in the store yet, but if you’re looking to get a good set for occasional use these might just be the ticket. If.you do get them, let.us know your thoughts on them. I have a couple sets of cheapies, and a good pair with replaceable tips for large snap rings.
-Ben

OldJohnnyRude on YouTube

[frankr]

I’ve broken my share of Waldes Truarc Pliers (the "real thing"). So if these break, they are just as good. 😉

[seakaye12]

quote reivertom:

I’ll go out on a limb here and say they are fine if you use them once a year, and need that tool. Most of their tools are OK if you really don’t use them hard. Some are better (or worse) than others and it’s a flip of a coin.

I think that their quality has gotten better over the years….and their prices are gradually rising. I agree that there still is a great variation in their quality.

quote FrankR:

I’ve broken my share of Waldes Truarc Pliers (the "real thing"). So if these break, they are just as good. 😉

I think that "which snap ring pliers are best" ranks right up there with "what brand of TCW-3 is best" when it comes to things that people are….well…."rather opinionated about"

Lately I’ve been reading a lot about snap ring pliers….and even Snap-on gets a mixed bag of reviews.

I’ll throw it out there: Which brand of snap-ring plier is best?

[frankr]

Re the Harbor Freight set pictured: Notice there are only two tip sizes in the whole set. Rarely are the various angles necessary in our outboard work. Straight internal and external will get 99% of them out & back in. And then there are the honking big ones necessary for the thru-hub exhaust gearcases.

[billw]

These are the same ones used by the North Koreans to assemble their new ICBMs. With the missile upgrade, they needed some better tools from the Chinese, for more exacting work.

Edit: Sorry about the above but I am a Snap On guy and the whole loss of manufacturing thing in this country really gets under my skin.

Long live American manufacturing!

[jerry-ahrens]

It really amazes me how people line up to get into Harbor Freight when a sale is going on. Something about a $9.95 set of open end wrenches from 1/4 to 1 inch just doesn’t add up in my mind… About the only thing I buy from them is their cheapy zip ties. Their ok for light bundling of wire, etc. I use them for winterize tags on boats in storage.
I wonder if Sears Craftsman would make anything that would work? I have a few older tools from them, one of which is a snap ring plier with multiple tips. Sears used to be a decent tool I think? But with ”made in China” stamped on everything nowadays, who knows?

[adam1961]

I agree that they snap ring pliers are an infrequent use too, but when I need them, I need them to work welll. I have a set that are in a grey moulded case that folds. They are sold under many brands, snap -on, mac, SK, Craftsman professional and even others. They are all the same set with different names on them. They can often be had on eBay for about $100.00. I bought mine about 10 years ago and have never had an issue. Our maintenance mechanic at work (landscape company) has been wrenching for 40 years and has all of his preferred tools, but still goes to my box for those pliers.
When buying most of my tools, I found that many were just branding schemes and that some of the "lesser brands were just as good as the big ones

[nj-boatbuilder57]

I built my boat and needed about 75 bar clamps. On sale at HF for $2 ea., it was impossible to say "no", especially when I knew I’d break some, I’d slather them in epoxy, and virtually destroy them eventually one way or another.

But, yeah, I get it: cheap tools are not worth it. If there’s a backwards-left-handed-stubby-offset wrench that I must have but will only use once a year, I’ll go to HF. Otherwise, it’s usually Snap-On or Mac for me.

When I was a commercial diver, we used HF handtools all the time……and considered them "disposable", routinely leaving them on the ocean floor when the job was done.

About the only thing that I always / only buy from HF are Nitrile gloves. For $5.99/bx of 100, nobody can beat that…..

FWIW, my snap-ring pliers were my dad’s. He took them with him when he left the Navy….in 1946! American made, tough as nails, still going strong since WWII. Handtools of the greatest generation!

EDIT: In fairness, and my rant notwithstanding, if I needed a set of snap-ring tools, that HF set would most likely be just fine. I think I’ve set about 4 snap rings this year….not exactly "daily use", ya know? Still, I think I’d look around for a good deal on a name-brand before I pulled the trigger at HF…

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