on ebay - Lindstrom Tweezers

[nukie]

Although Lindstrom tweezers are not as popular as their cutting pliers I find them made as well as Dumont tweezers.

Find it on your local ebay the seller ships international from usa, let us know if you can find it cheaper.

Zeitlin Industrial Supply

I find titanium tweezers offers very light touch and easy to use especially when handling and positioning smt parts.

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Personally, I find that tweezers are tweezers: I've got Chinese ones and Bernstein ones, and, unless they are of really bad quality, they all tweeze just fine.
Now in the case of cutters things are a bit different. I have a few crappies, 2 Xcelites and Lindstroms, and Lindstroms are just better.

[eliocor]

Personally, I find that tweezers are tweezers: I've got Chinese ones and Bernstein ones, and, unless they are of really bad quality, they all tweeze just fine.

If you say so, surely you have never used good quality ones! 
Just as an example, between the Lindstrom tweezers, do not buy the SL ones: they belong to the economical line and, even if they are really good, they do not even compare to the other lines of Lindstrom tweezers!!!

I imagine that in the Chinese one you are able to find tweezers made in titanium, right?
In some particular situations (VERY high temperature) they are really useful.

[nukie]

It's true the performance is little but some Chinese/Indian tweezers has high tension so it's difficult to feel that you are actually grabbing a part. So you either use too much power that result in over gripping and thus the part will slip and catapult across the room, or you are not gripping it at all. Precision work using a tweezer with the right tension is crucial for feedback.

[Mechatrommer]

i bought no name chinese brand set of 4 pair tweezer various shape. i dont experience the high tension mentioned. everything just right, alot better than my previous crappy non esd non de-magnetized steel tweezer. its lighter... better. but i havent experienced working with high temp since its not my scope of work. it got name actually, TOYO-ESD (11,12,13,15) but other may just refer it as "no name chinese". dave must give me a very good reason why i should throw this away and buy the lindstrom one.

[eliocor]

As I wrote, to my knowledge the Lindstrom ones are among the best tweezers on the market but it is rarely known that those tweezers are produced by Ideal-Tek and rebranded as Lindstrom!
If you are able to find them, their price is about 1/3 less than Lindstrom, but the quality is the same!

My suggestion on a BASIC set of models to buy for working on SMD is:

TL SM-108 SA: very useful for positioning/soldering components from 0402 to 2512 (it is grooved to lessen the strain on component)
TL SM-103 SA: not for components smaller than 0603
TL SM-100 SA: reverse action. Really useful for grabbing/locking small wires/components (buy at least 2 pieces of them)
TL SM-101 SA: see SM-102
TL SM-102 SA: If you do SMD reworking and you need to remove components, they are the best in town! To my knowledge no other producers has this kind of tweezers.

BTW, after using different tweezers in 25 years of work (I manipulate really small objects everyday), I decided to settle on the Lindstrom ones: now I own more than 30 different models of them!!!

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As I wrote, to my knowledge the Lindstrom ones are among the best tweezers on the market but it is rarely known that those tweezers are produced by Ideal-Tek and rebranded as Lindstrom!
If you are able to find them, their price is about 1/3 less than Lindstrom, but the quality is the same!

My suggestion on a BASIC set of models to buy for working on SMD is:

TL SM-108 SA: very useful for positioning/soldering components from 0402 to 2512 (it is grooved to lessen the strain on component)
TL SM-103 SA: not for components smaller than 0603
TL SM-100 SA: reverse action. Really useful for grabbing/locking small wires/components (buy at least 2 pieces of them)
TL SM-101 SA: see SM-102
TL SM-102 SA: If you do SMD reworking and you need to remove components, they are the best in town! To my knowledge no other producers has this kind of tweezers.

BTW, after using different tweezers in 25 years of work (I manipulate really small objects everyday), I decided to settle on the Lindstrom ones: now I own more than 30 different models of them!!!

I have the Chinese set Mechatrommer has and a set from Bernstein, but I e-mailed the US tweezer seller in the OP's link to ask for a quote on the list you posted.
If Lindstroms aren't obscenely priced, I'll give them a go.

In the meantime, please tell us more about your 30 tweezers.  I am very interested in the various types and their applications. You could consider doing a tweezer review, actually, since you're in the business for a long time and your opinions arise from firsthand experience.

Last, but not least, what cutters do you prefer and why? I don't cut Kevlar or piano cords, I mostly cut component leads, but I do that quite a lot, and comfort is important. I'm looking to get suggestions from people whose requirements are similar to mine, as otherwise it's hard to determine relevance.

[eliocor]

Unfortunately in this days I'm really busy, but I will try to make some macro photos of the tweezers I prefer.
Just to worsen the things, some days ago I gave to a friend of mine my macro lenses and my annular macro flash... and it will get back them in no more than some weeks
So I will be obliged to use a cheap camera to do it.

Just as example, here you can see (a low quality) photo of the my most preferred SMD tweezer: the SM-108 one.
As you can see, the surface finishing is completely different from the cheap ones (this one has almost 10 years of usage!), the two grooves are used for strain relief on components and even the thickness of the antimagnetic metal is much higher than typical tweezers. Even so thick, the "touch" is very light.

Now compare a photo from a similar producer (European one): even if lightly used they are crappy and they distorted after small usage!

If you find this kind of comparation interesting, I hope to find some more time to show you some more details regarding those devices.

- - - - -

Regarding cutters, even if I own some Lindstrom ones (8149/8141) I prefer cutters made by EREM (522/622/570E/582E) because for daily usage they are more rugged. The most important thing is that they must be full/ultra flush cut.
I will ever never use cutters like the Knipex 78 03 125 ESD maybe they are cheaper but they will not last for year of usage (if  not abused)

[nukie]

EREM has a large range of cutters specifically designed for electronics use. imho Lindstrom has a lot to catch up.

[eliocor]

For very delicate works (like cutting a pin in a LQFP chip), Lindstrom ones can be really good, but for everyday working (as I wrote) I prefer the EREM cutters because they are more rugged.
Other cutters I love to use are from unknown brand (I surely think they are Ideal-Tek model 5342): I bought a dozen from a (friend of mine) surplus dealer who told me that they were made in Switzerland* but they were rejected because of some small minor flaws! I payed them about 2 Euros apiece and their quality is almost as good as the Erem ones! I regret to not having bought more of them because they are wonderful.
On the same stock I also got some pieces of pliers of the same "line": they are exactly equal to the Ideal-Tek 6023, 6021, 6022, 6011 and 6041 models. Even those pliers were "substandard" for the same cosmetically reasons: some very small rusty spots.


*) I live in northern Italy

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Unfortunately in this days I'm really busy, but I will try to make some macro photos of the tweezers I prefer.
Just to worsen the things, some days ago I gave to a friend of mine my macro lenses and my annular macro flash... and it will get back them in no more than some weeks
So I will be obliged to use a cheap camera to do it.

Just as example, here you can see (a low quality) photo of the my most preferred SMD tweezer: the SM-108 one.
As you can see, the surface finishing is completely different from the cheap ones (this one has almost 10 years of usage!), the two grooves are used for strain relief on components and even the thickness of the antimagnetic metal is much higher than typical tweezers. Even so thick, the "touch" is very light.

Now compare a photo from a similar producer (European one): even if lightly used they are crappy and they distorted after small usage!

If you find this kind of comparation interesting, I hope to find some more time to show you some more details regarding those devices.

- - - - -

Regarding cutters, even if I own some Lindstrom ones (8149/8141) I prefer cutters made by EREM (522/622/570E/582E) because for daily usage they are more rugged. The most important thing is that they must be full/ultra flush cut.
I will ever never use cutters like the Knipex 78 03 125 ESD maybe they are cheaper but they will not last for year of usage (if  not abused)

I am definitely interested in your photos, comparisons and opinions. Of course, there is no pressure: when you feel like it and are in the mood, please share your experience.
I am very interested in Schmitz cutters at the moment, but the company is on holiday, so I hope to use their holiday time to make up my mind and create a shopping list. My Lindstroms hurt my hand a bit, so I'll be going for cushy handles whenever possible.

[eliocor]

If you need soft "handles", go straight with the Erem ones.
They are rather "softy" compared to the hard plastic of the Lindstrom's.
- - - - -
When I will have some more time I will try to make some comparison photos. Unfortunately their quality will not be so good as I'm used to...

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If you need soft "handles", go straight with the Erem ones.
They are rather "softy" compared to the hard plastic of the Lindstrom's.
- - - - -
When I will have some more time I will try to make some comparison photos. Unfortunately their quality will not be so good as I'm used to...

Nah, I am waiting for Schmitz to come back from their holidays and for Piergiacomi's catalogue to reach me. But Piergiacomi would have to be some magical stuff to distract me from Schmitz. I do want their stuff... Gawd, Precisiontools created a monster....

And ZTSupply didn't have any TL SM-100SA's, by the way, apparently they don't stock that item.

[nukie]

Piergiacomi - at $5 for a cutter you won't find any magic in it but I have used their flush cutter and wire stripper for years I think they are very comfy and value for money.

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Piergiacomi - at $5 for a cutter you won't find any magic in it but I have used their flush cutter and wire stripper for years I think they are very comfy and value for money.

Interestingly enough, that's what we were discussing over e-mail with Piergiacomi's UK rep. Of course, the cheap and cheerful ones I got from eBay (TRE-03-NB) are nothing to sing about, but the rep thinks that their premium lines are very impressive.
I'll let you know how things go when their catalogue and prices arrive.

[eliocor]

And ZTSupply didn't have any TL SM-100SA's, by the way, apparently they don't stock that item.

Unfortunately for you, I bought the last 4 pieces of SM-100 from ZTSupply: they are too useful! 

[tinhead]

i'm using since some time Duratool tweezers, they not that expensive as Lindstrom but the quality
is let say equal (haven't managed to damage both products)

For example DURATOOL D00837 (13SMD.SA.NE), they like Lindstrom TL SM-108 SA

[eliocor]

Some other photos of Lindstrom tweezers: components shown are some 0402 capacitors.
I choose to show some tweezers sold on the summentioned eBay auction:
SM-100 SA: reverse action, very good to lock components/wires when soldering them
SM-108 SA: my preferred, near 0402 capacitors and 0603 resistor
TL 5-TA: titanium one, very sharp and extremely light
TL 6-NC: Nickel super alloy, much resistant than SA. Very sharp and angled.
TL 7X-SA: reverse action, nice to lock very thin objects

If you know the size of those components surely you will appreciate the high precision of those tweezers...

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Hot pics, eliocor!
I saw online TL SM101-SA - have you found these useful?
As for the mysterious disappearance of the SM-100's, well I just knew you were mixed in it somehow....


Duratool, huh? I have never had anything from Duratool... Will visit their site and have a look, thank you for the suggestion, tinhead. In the meantime, could you please tell more about what work you do, how much you used the Duratool tweezers and for how long you've had them?

[eliocor]

If you do ICs SMD reworking* or you want to recover good ICs from surplus boards they are wonderful (SM-101 and SM-102).
Otherwise they do not have any other usage: they are really specialistic tweezers.

*) I use a really cheap but rather good hot air reworking station: AOYUE 998 ; it is  cheap and has the "movable rail" on which you can lock the hot air nozzle so your two hands are free for doing reworking.
Other reworking station keeps one of your hands busy.

P.S.: I will try to make a small video showing the usefulness (to me) of the SM-101 and SM-102.

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If you do ICs SMD reworking* or you want to recover good ICs from surplus boards they are wonderful (SM-101 and SM-102).
Otherwise they do not have any other usage: they are really specialistic tweezers.

*) I use a really cheap but rather good hot air reworking station: AOYUE 998 ; it is  cheap and has the "movable rail" on which you can lock the hot air nozzle so your two hands are free for doing reworking.
Other reworking station keeps one of your hands busy.

P.S.: I will try to make a small video showing the usefulness (to me) of the SM-101 and SM-102.

I salvage ICs too and then reuse them for weird stuff - this way, even if they weren't dead when removed, they'd be sure to die in my hands.

A tweezer-fest video would be GREAT!

[Precisiontools]

 I do want their stuff... Gawd, Precisiontools created a monster....

...and when we are done with tweezers & pliers, we can look at screwdrivers...

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 I do want their stuff... Gawd, Precisiontools created a monster....

...and when we are done with tweezers & pliers, we can look at screwdrivers...

Screwdrivers - oh yeah....
Well now that you said the s-word, I can say that my collection is as follows.

Wera - ph, flat, torx, hex - individual ones (micro-handles not the cruel solid Kraftform), they hang above the bench and are used the most
Wiha (recently acquired a 50 screwdriver lot - ph, flat, torx)
2 Bernstein ESD ones (ph00 and ph0) - good, nothing stellar, and I think Wera/Wiha handles are more comfy
Ratchet and 3 packs of bits from CK (ph, flat, hex)
PH0 and PZ0 from CK with solid handles (I really don't like solid handles on precision drivers, but these 2 cost me like £2 inc shipping)
Multiblade from CK (T4896)
A few Stanley ones, here and there
Stanley ph/flat set of 6 in box
Felo torx set
Bergen bit/driver 33pc set
Sealey 30-in-1 combo(bits in driver handle, cute design, wish it was Wera) - my first experience with Sealey, quality looks average
Can't think of anything else...
What have you got?

[Bored@Work]

And after the screwdrivers we discuss quality paper clips, yes?

[Precisiontools]

Wera & Felo are nice but I like/use PB Swiss.