On the subject of tweezers ...

[Iain]

It seems that I never seen a thread anywhere on what tweezers people use, or why.  So, let's have a thread!

[Iain]

My daily driver is a pair of tweezers I've had for over a decade.  I have no idea where they came from, but the ends come to nice points, and they're good and stiff.

[cbroughton67]

I have a variety that I've picked up at shows over the years. One vendor in particular comes to mind - "The Tool Man." I think he's from Ft. Worth, TX.

I did purchase a pair of brass "watch maker" tweezers on eBay, specifically because there's no way for them to become magnetized. They're a sanity saver at times.

Chris

[tehachapifan]

A good measurement of quality might be their tweezer-launch of tiny parts tendency. I shudder to think how many grab irons I've put into orbit.

[TLOC]

I also have a variety and they are all from Jane’s Tools from either Trainfest in Milwaukee or the Mad City show in Madison, Wi. A good quality and decent prices. I have some locking ones that IMO are a waste for me. I prefer curved tips and some sort of grip on the handle portion. I do have one stainless tweezer but like the scaplel blades I have, they forget to be used. I did check and Janes Tools does have an online shop.

Tom

[ednadolski]

I can pick up a piece of 0.005" dia. stainless steel wire with these (tho I need magnifiers to see the wire):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007469YLY/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005T7LF7Q/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


I've used 'em to make scale wire grabirons and cut levers:




They are also handy for picking up those Proto:87 true-scale spikes, and the tiny steel ball bearings that go in the Sergent couplers.


Ed

[Mark W]

My favorite pair can be found at Menards for 5 bucks.  I've got 7 or 8 of them now.  I have 3 workbenches that all have a dedicated pair, one lives in my Train Taco storage boxes, one stays with the soldering station, and a few more in our train show tool kits.    That's not including the dozens of other tweezers collected over the years.  There's one additional pair that stays with the soldering station that I frequently use, but the General Tool tweezers are always the go-to. 

https://www.menards.com/main/tools-hardware/hand-tools/specialty-hand-tools/general-tools-reg-5-bevel-point-tweezers/401aa/p-1444431235059-c-9163.htm?tid=7086302181653882802&ipos=2

[Mark W]

A good measurement of quality might be their tweezer-launch of tiny parts tendency. I shudder to think how many grab irons I've put into orbit.

If you take a dremel and a steady hand, you can grind a small dip at the end of a pair to give it a little tooth on each prong. (Alternatively, just bend the tips inward.  I'm talking like half a millimeter or so.  It doesn't totally eliminate teleportation, but makes it much more difficult.

[wazzou]

I've got several of the Excelta brand tweezers, all in different sizes.
I've had them all for years. 
I didn't by them from Amazon, instead buying them from some unrecalled Online Store, that believe it or not, sold mostly tweezers.
It may have been in fact from them directly.
I think they're Swiss made.
If I recall correctly, the number of stars on the handle had some significance and added cost.

[ednadolski]

... buying them from some unrecalled Online Store ...

Could it have been https://www.all-spec.com/ ?   I've bought some from there too.

Ed

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I have a whole host of em. I use some sometimes, but I'd say that 90% of the time, when I need tweezers, I go for the hook nose ones at the bottom that I think I stole from my dad 15 years ago.

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[randgust]

I've got one go-to pair that I've had for a long time, swiss made, that are so well used the chrome is worn off the tips, which was actually a big improvement as it greatly improved gripping.   They are my favorites as they bend wire perfectly without twisting the tips a bit, they are a bit wider at the tips that a typical fine set and they just don't twist.   I have several other specialized pairs, but that set is my right hand, literally.   After I shattered my right hand in the snowblower, my nerve sensitivity at the fingertips never came back 100%, but with that pair, it transmits 'touch' back toward my hand nerves further down my fingers.   I'm so paranoid about loosing that particular pair my kids called me "Edward Tweezerhands" because I was so attached to them, still am.   That's the 'go to' pair for all my handrail work.   I got them from the local hobby shop (now closed), recommended by the owner, who was an MMR and an avid scratchbuilder.

[chicken45]

I bought a nice pair of Tamiya Tweezers. They are black. But for some reason, I like my al cheapo ones better.

Maybe I just need the Curvemaster.

[DKS]

I have a whole host of em. I use some sometimes, but I'd say that 90% of the time, when I need tweezers, I go for the hook nose ones at the bottom that I think I stole from my dad 15 years ago.

That's too funny...



What I lack in number I make up for in variety. They came from all over the place... straight, curved, padded, hooked, duckbills, needle-tip, self-locking... The needle-tips (5/0) are from XYtronic, same people who make really good soldering irons. I also have a pair that are a foot long--very useful for retrieving stuff you drop behind the tool cabinet or whatever. And there are a couple of locking hemostats in there, too. But 98% of the time I reach for the blunt, curved-tip tweezers I swiped from my dad when I was about 12 (laying diagonally across all the rest). Which means I've been using them for 53 years now.

...that are so well used the chrome is worn off the tips, which was actually a big improvement as it greatly improved gripping...

Same here--so true! The tips of mine are also nearly black from dipping parts in blackening solution.

 

[MetroRedLine]

Got a tweezer question - When I handle Fox Valley N scale detail parts (locomotive grabirons) for installation with a pair of fine-tipped tweezers, the paint on the grabirons always scrapes off. What am I doing wrong?