SMD tweezers from eBay that some one should avoid ?

[Kiriakos GR]

My original thought was to spent a price premium so to get branded European made tweezers set.

Then I said why not trying eBay to see what quality of tweezers I can find from it, or better, to see by my own eyes what you get for 1$ shipped.

By expanding my search discovered this nice looking gadget with magnifier & LED light for 6$.
And also got the cheapest one which was described as ESD type for 1.19$.
Both are about the get shipped, therefore I will have a true opinion in few weeks.



Basically this topic is about to host your own ... avoid buying .. message, regarding useless tweezers that you got on eBay.
And even better show a picture of it.

[Agent24]

Re: SMD tweezers from eBay that some one should avoid ?

Probably crap. I bought some cheap tweezers for $1 on eBay for a laugh, the tips are badly made and aren't very good for much of anything, as I suspected they would be.

The ones I actually use were $18 or so from Jaycar, made in India. Points are very fine and precise, no problem holding 0402 or even smaller.

No hope of doing the same with the Chinese ones.

[Kiriakos GR]

Re: SMD tweezers from eBay that some one should avoid ?

You just reminded me the old days in Europe that we could find good quality tweezers made by German hardened steel, unfortunately there is no production any more.

[Clutchbox]

Re: SMD tweezers from eBay that some one should avoid ?

good quality tweezers made by German hardened steel

Vomm / Wiha tweezers?
I have the standard ESD Tweezers from WIHA, very nice quality for 10 Euro's.
Wiha says they are made from "Vommaloy", I think Wiha let the German Pincet Manufacturer Vomm made these.

[Kiriakos GR]

Re: SMD tweezers from eBay that some one should avoid ?

Their website looks terrible but their product catalog looks interesting.

http://www.vomm.com/ESD.pdf

[momaka]

Re: SMD tweezers from eBay that some one should avoid ?

I've used those cheap ESD-safe tweezers many times before (not the ones with the light, but just the regular ones). They are quite okay for reballing - i.e. picking up and moving solder balls and such. More than fine enough for me.

But as with anything Chinese, they are made of very flimsy steel, and the fine ends will bend quite easily. Therefore, I definitely don't recommend them for any applications that will exert force on them.

[Kiriakos GR]

Re: SMD tweezers from eBay that some one should avoid ?

Regarding needs, I just like to handle components for soldering.
I have all ready four of large ones 18cm (made in England) tweezers which are great for general use, but they are unable to handle well tiny components because they are very long.