Knipex Snap Ring Pliers Review
After some time of using crappy and cheap snap ring pliers and having some tools break when tasked for harder use I decided to 'Invest' in some super nice Knipex pliers. I got picked these up from Amazon for what some might consider a hefty sum (about $160). After using them, worth every penny. Here is a preview of them as well as the old POS ones I had. Oh, not made in China which you pay a little extra for but in the end worth it!
KNIPEX Tools 00 20 04 SB Snap Ring Plier Kit
This is the package (with some scuffing from use). They are the KNIPEX Tools 00 20 04 SB that I picked up. They are packed in and you get a lot of different variety of sizes and styles. It included both expanding and compressing style of dedicated pliers.
Low Budget Auto Parts Store Pliers
These ones I had for a long time. These are only good for the lightest of weight jobs. The tips tend to snap and are a pain to change as you need to use a screwdriver to change bits. These are only for compressing style snap rings, but I suspect they have them for expanding too. Do yourself a favorer, skip that cup of expensive coffee and get a better tool.
Closer Look at El-Cheap-O
As I said these are a pain if you need to change tips. The tips also always seemed to get loose. At best okay for smaller snap rings.
Closer Look at the OEM Tools Snap Ring Pliers
These have a unique feature that the tips can go in at a right angle as well as straight. The tips are also held into the pliers by thumb screws. Makes it a bit easier to change the tips.
OEM Tools Snap Ring Tips
Close up of the tips. Notice something missing? Tip broke off on a small snap ring. Still better then El-Cheap-O's
Knipex Set Unboxed
These are all the pliers out of the shipping box. This is from the 8pc kit, so about $20 per tool. Handles are nice as well as the feel of the tools.
Cheap Set from OEM Tools
These were not too bad, used them for a while. They did OK, and could use for compressing and expanding type of clips. If your looking for a low budget and flexible set of tools these ones are OK. About $8 for the pair from Amazon as OEMTOOLS 25356.
Knipex Snap Ring Tips Close Up
If you look at this at first you might think they were accidently bent. They are bent but not on accident. The angle of the bend is to keep the snap ring from slipping off when you expand it (In this tools case). Smart!
Super Closer up
Just incase you didn't catch it in the prior photo. The tips are subtly bent to help keep the snap ring from flying off the pliers as you use compress or expand them.
Closer Look at one of the Knipex Tools
This is one of the tools that will expand a snap ring. As you can see the tools are all made in Germany, not Chinese-ieum like so many tools today.
Angle Version of the Knipex Snap Ring Pliers
Ok, I forgot to take a closer shot of the right angle pliers, but here is a picture off the box as a consolation price. They also come in expand and compress styles.
Right Angle Tools
Ok, I do have an actual picture of the right angle tools, they come in expanding and compressing versions as mentioned.
Conclusion
After years of having a bunch of crappy snap ring pliers I did the deed and purchased a good set of the Knipex tools. I looked at a few different ones like the Channel Lock, Gear Wrench and a few others of similar design but when looking at reviews for any of them they all had some issues. The Gear Wrench (and similar style) would be my second go to style if I didn't find the Knipex set, and for a few extra $$ you have the undisputed champions of snap ring pliers... I guess I should say IMO.
Happy Motoring and get your projects done!
