Best snap ring pliers, advice needed

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J Blatz

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I have a wish for a good set of snap ring pliers to use with 29 and 38MM Kosdon and possibly Loki loads. I'd like your input, as my current set of pliers are straight up junk and I often end up with snap rings zinging off into space.
 
Some time ago I bought a couple pairs of cheap ones at a surplus place. They didn't hold onto the rings very well until I bent the tips slightly toward each other. Lost them a while back.

My latest pliers are Channellock. Can be used for inside or outside rings up to 2" or maybe a bit more, and has several sets of interchangeable tips. I think mine were $30. Only issue is that the toggle that switches from INT to EXT is mislabeled, but that's not much of an issue.
 
Knipex makes ratcheting ring pliers. But if your hands shaking with regular pliers putting in a ring on a 38mm they will shake with any pliers.
 
I've got a few Knipex in various sizes and they work well. Never found anything out of a Home Depot or Lowes that was reliable for what it's worth.
 
I’ve used three different brands of snap ring pliers with 38mm Loki loads.
Harbor freight genetics swapable tip pliers least desirable. Have a lot of play in the tips much movement and more difficult to use.
Mac tools professional snap ring pliers set. The kit comes with about a dozen different Interchange tips for inside and outside snap rings of multiple sizes. This was much easier to use than the harbor freight pliers. Almost no play in the tips and a solid connection in the snap ring was easy.
Kinipex pliers. Only one use for these; inside snap rings of a specific size range. No interchangeable tips. Easiest to use by far; but it’s a unitasker. This is the way to go if you’re only going to use it for motor snap rings.
 
These. I have a 2nd set for my job also and they are amazing. Great price also 20210919_205004.jpg
 
I'm still looking for right-angle ratcheting or similar. There's just something about the needed angles and forces that causes my right hand to tarantella even more than usual.
 
I'm still looking for right-angle ratcheting or similar. There's just something about the needed angles and forces that causes my right hand to tarantella even more than usual.

I haven’t tried them, but what about this set:
Neiko 02130A Heavy Duty 16" Snap Ring Plier Set, 2 Piece, External and Internal Pliers, Straight, 45°, 90° Tips
by Amazon.com
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002E06ULW/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_RJJT10GBTES7K692G2NZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
 
I haven’t tried them, but what about this set:
Neiko 02130A Heavy Duty 16" Snap Ring Plier Set, 2 Piece, External and Internal Pliers, Straight, 45°, 90° Tips
by Amazon.com
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002E06ULW/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_RJJT10GBTES7K692G2NZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
That's actually very interesting, the tips could clearly be replaced with something longer.... new ideas to hunt for.

I have the Snap On versions of these plus another one that's more bigger... ;)
 
Knipex. I don't like replaceable tip pliers. I have some. Gimmicks. Not anywhere near as solid and secure as Knipex. Have used some of the others listed here. Some are ring launchers if you are not careful.

Get Knipex. Note, NOT the ones Home Depot is carrying. Those are not likely anywhere near as good as the made in Germany full-sized ones.

This is the sort of ones you are looking for: https://www.amazon.com/4411J2-Inter...nipex+snap+ring+pliers&qid=1632317997&sr=8-18 These are forged pliers with very good joint. Look at the picture so you can identify them. They come in several tip sizes, closing and expanding, straight and right angle. After using these I have no interest in using anything else for the range of snap rings we deal with. And I've used these pliers for years. Yes you pay a bit more for them. You get a much better made much better working tool for your money. It's worth it. IMHO.

Keep in mind a snap ring which gets away from you can be a very good projectile. Even if it just slips at the tips when getting it in or out of the groove can damage the groove. You want something which holds a snap ring securely, at least as securely as you reasonably can. Knipex does that job, if they have a tip which fits your ring.

The question you should be asking if you are shopping, is which size Knipex pliers do you need? That will depend on what rings you are installing and removing. I'm not where my motor stuff is located, so I can't check for you. Get others to answer that.

Gerald
 
Knipex. I don't like replaceable tip pliers. I have some. Gimmicks. Not anywhere near as solid and secure as Knipex. Have used some of the others listed here. Some are ring launchers if you are not careful.

Get Knipex. Note, NOT the ones Home Depot is carrying. Those are not likely anywhere near as good as the made in Germany full-sized ones.

This is the sort of ones you are looking for: https://www.amazon.com/4411J2-Inter...nipex+snap+ring+pliers&qid=1632317997&sr=8-18 These are forged pliers with very good joint. Look at the picture so you can identify them. They come in several tip sizes, closing and expanding, straight and right angle. After using these I have no interest in using anything else for the range of snap rings we deal with. And I've used these pliers for years. Yes you pay a bit more for them. You get a much better made much better working tool for your money. It's worth it. IMHO.

Keep in mind a snap ring which gets away from you can be a very good projectile. Even if it just slips at the tips when getting it in or out of the groove can damage the groove. You want something which holds a snap ring securely, at least as securely as you reasonably can. Knipex does that job, if they have a tip which fits your ring.

The question you should be asking if you are shopping, is which size Knipex pliers do you need? That will depend on what rings you are installing and removing. I'm not where my motor stuff is located, so I can't check for you. Get others to answer that.

Gerald
I second Knipex. I bought two pairs for 29 and 38 mm rings, gave one to my mentor who has made motors up to P and has been doing it longer than I have. He said they were the best pliers he's ever used.

Best -- Terry
 
What happens if you use a bad snap ring pliers?

The snap ring can slip off of the tips causing harm, damage, injury to persons and property...

Has anyone said Knipex yet?

Loki Research has comments on Knipex pliers. see https://lokiresearch.com/page/FAQ - very last FAQ item. I do not have the pliers for 98mm and up motors because I don't have any of those motors. I do have the 29/38 and the 54/75 pliers and they've served me well in the limited use I've put them to.

Additionally, there is a video on YouTube created by Loki Research with comments on snap ring pliers. see: Snap Ring Plier Use - YouTube
 
German-crafted Knipex. Because good tools are not cheap...and cheap tools are not good.

Specifically, unlike cheap snap ring pliers I’ve owned, the machined Knipex tips are accurately aligned and finished so that the rings neither creep forward nor backward as tension is applied or relaxed, let alone fly off. The Knipex pliers’ non-replaceable tips are slender and integral to the tool, unlike those I’ve owned with replaceable tips. Pliers with tip clamps may hamper the user’s visibility of the holes in internal snap rings and the groove into which the ring is emplaced. Knipex pliers fit the hand well and offer the right amount of mechanical advantage and throw for the diameter of ring they’re sized for. They’re simply well-engineered, forged, machined, and finished about as well as any hand tool can be.
 
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The snap ring can slip off of the tips causing harm, damage, injury to persons and property...

Is it the fault of the cheap pliers or the fault of the user? Honestly, I haven't used snap rings that much so I'm asking. It's a simple operation and wondering if small snap ring severe injuries is a thing or highly unlikely. I can see a large snap ring taking out an eye such as with auto repair. Personally, I wear corrective glasses so I always have a barrier in front of my eyes which is why I don't mind wearing them. Yes the glasses do not protect against nailguns or exploding saw blades so need to wear Z87 for those.
 
Is it the fault of the cheap pliers or the fault of the user? Honestly, I haven't used snap rings that much so I'm asking. It's a simple operation and wondering if small snap ring severe injuries is a thing or highly unlikely. I can see a large snap ring taking out an eye such as with auto repair. Personally, I wear corrective glasses so I always have a barrier in front of my eyes which is why I don't mind wearing them. Yes the glasses do not protect against nailguns or exploding saw blades so need to wear Z87 for those.
Eye injury is the only reasonably-foreseeable danger I know of. So as long as your specs are impact resistant and cover your eyes well, you’ll be fine. The only other risk I face by a fly-off is losing the snap ring in the tremendous amount of rocket clutter I maintain in my workshop, or into the weeds at the rocket range.
 
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