SOG Switch Plier 2.0

[campussecurity]

I say just get one as well. It's great.

[hellsing]

i'm weak, i just bought one, will have it in 2 weeks.

Impossible to find it in shop here in France, i bought it on the evil bay, 60$ with shipping, quite good deal.

[campussecurity]

Nice!

[3rdpig]

Well, based on this thread I ran right down to my local Big5 and bought one.  They had one left and the box had been opened, but I bought it anyway.  There are no signs of use at all on it anywhere, so I'm guessing they opened it to show someone who didn't buy it.

My first impressions aren't that great.  The pliers are as gritty as hell and about half the time they won't deploy all the way.  Also, if I squeeze them shut and release slowly, they'll hang up halfway.  The inside tools are loose and wobbly and the plier handle has a 20 degree twist to it.  In other words, the typical Made in China Sog quality I've come to know and hate.

I'm going to clean it and lube it, tweak the plier handle straight and hopefully it will turn out better than the horrible Power Duo I own.

I want to like this tool, a buddy had an original Switchplier and he loved it but I could never find a decent one.  So I'm predisposed to liking it despite my bad experience with the Power Duo. 

[campussecurity]

Well mine was pretty good out of the box. And the Switchplier2.0 is made in Taiwan and I've had good experience with things from there. Have many blades made there and never a complaint.

[3rdpig]

I'm happy that you got a good one, mine was awful.  If they had have had another one on the shelf I'd have taken it back immediately.  Not only was it gritty, it had a "detent" feel in the middle of the plier movement range where it would often stop when deploying or when squeezing and then releasing the pliers slowly.

Using a pair of channel locks and a shop towel, I tweaked the pliers handle back into alignment.  Then I adjusted the tension on the tools.

Then I soaked the plier head in a thin, abrasive solution I used for brass cleaning and then spent an hour or two working the pliers, both with the handle and by working the jaws themselves.  After that I washed it in degreaser, rinsed it and blew it dry with compressed air and relubed it.  Now it feels halfway decent.  It's still nothing to brag about, but it springs open freely and doesn't catch in the middle anymore.  It still has some tight spots, but at least it's not gritty anymore.  I can use it without grinding my teeth every time I squeeze the pliers.

I must have got one on the bad end of the quality spectrum, but that seems to be my luck with Sog, my last 3 tools from them have been terrible.  I expect my review of my Power Duo is still on the site somewhere.  I disassembled that and spent a few hours getting the worst of problems fixed.

[3rdpig]

Well, after bitching about it, then fixing it, I have to admit that I like it.  In fact, I like it quite a bit.  Had it come out of the box the way it is now I'd have raved about it.  As it is, a little elbow grease for those that get a rough one is all it takes. I'm tempted to go to another Big5 tomorrow and see if they'll take one out of the package for me so I can compare it. 

So far, ignoring the intitial problems, here are my likes and dislikes.

Likes:
It's fun to play with.  No, that's not a joke, it IS fun to play with.
The pliers deploy quickly and fit together very nicely at the tip.  They are very usable and comfortable.
The wire cutters are a pleasant surprise, mine worked well on everything I tried them on including stranded, automotive wiring.
The phillips bit.  It fits in the screws I deal very well and folded out it makes for a very easy to use phillips screwdriver. 
Overall build quality and materials seem pretty good.  It's a solid little package.
It has a belt clip.
Most of the inside tools are quick to deploy and stow.
Bottle opener works.
The knife blade is actually sharp.

Minor annoyances
The awl needs to be sharper and have a sewing eye.
The large, flat screwdrive blade is poorly shaped on the end, but a small file will fix it.
The file is a typical, non leatherman file, meaning it's fine for wood, plastic or soft aluminum, but useless on anything else.
I don't like partially seratted blades, but I know some people do, and this is a tool without a full seratted blade, so it's bearable.
The belt clip doesn't have a lot of holding power. It's OK, but I'd like to see a dimple or something to keep it from coming off a pocket so easily.
The tiny flat blade screwdriver is too sharp and poorly shaped, but a small file will cure that.
The phillips bit can't be accessed without deploying the pliers.
None of the internal tools locks up tight, they all have considerable wiggle.
The writing on the ruler is so tiny I have to use the mag glass on my SAK Explorer to read it.

Dislikes
The can opener is a sad joke.  It's not sharp, the "hook" is rounded and doesn't catch the lip of cans reliably and it's not shaped quite right.

That's it for now.  I've got a half dozen other Sog tools around, including a Power Lock, Power Assist, Power Duo, PPP and Paratool and a box of extra tool bits, so I may play musical chairs with some of the tools. 

[styx]

Had to laugh at that can opener bit. First thing I griped about too

[Kampfer]

Had to laugh at that can opener bit. First thing I griped about too

Yeah it really sucks.

[styx]

I think it could be fixed to get a decent performance out of it

[hellsing]

I'm happy that you got a good one, mine was awful.  If they had have had another one on the shelf I'd have taken it back immediately.  Not only was it gritty, it had a "detent" feel in the middle of the plier movement range where it would often stop when deploying or when squeezing and then releasing the pliers slowly.

Using a pair of channel locks and a shop towel, I tweaked the pliers handle back into alignment.  Then I adjusted the tension on the tools.

Then I soaked the plier head in a thin, abrasive solution I used for brass cleaning and then spent an hour or two working the pliers, both with the handle and by working the jaws themselves.  After that I washed it in degreaser, rinsed it and blew it dry with compressed air and relubed it.  Now it feels halfway decent.  It's still nothing to brag about, but it springs open freely and doesn't catch in the middle anymore.  It still has some tight spots, but at least it's not gritty anymore.  I can use it without grinding my teeth every time I squeeze the pliers.

I must have got one on the bad end of the quality spectrum, but that seems to be my luck with Sog, my last 3 tools from them have been terrible.  I expect my review of my Power Duo is still on the site somewhere.  I disassembled that and spent a few hours getting the worst of problems fixed.

It seems mine is near like you, quite rugged.
I will play with it as for a brand new leatherman to make it smooth.

[Demel]

My new switchplier setup. Added the 2 washers in between flat driver and phillips. I really get tired of can openers. I wanted to put the awl instead of the bottle opener, but settled on this setup.
It is great being able to swap tools on here. The scissors make it very complicated, but well worth it.

[3rdpig]

I added a pair of scissors to a Powerlock I have and they were terrible, they'd cut paper, but not much else.  They were so bad I replaced them with the V cutter. Did I just get a bad pair?  How is everyone else's SOG scissors working?

[Demel]

I added a pair of scissors to a Powerlock I have and they were terrible, they'd cut paper, but not much else.  They were so bad I replaced them with the V cutter. Did I just get a bad pair?  How is everyone else's SOG scissors working?

They are not the best for sure. Mine are slightly better than wingman scissors, I'd rather have a decent pair of scissors than a file. Only because I rarely use a file on my mt. so you're not alone.

[shibafu]

The wire cutters are a pleasant surprise, mine worked well on everything I tried them on including stranded, automotive wiring.

Curiously I found the wire cutters very disappointing when I tried them on 2.5 sq.mm (13 AWG) insulated copper wire.  They seem to have poor geometry, with very little overlap of the cutting jaws and not enough clearance around them.  The result is that you end up having to crush the wire before you've cut all the way through it.  Stranded wire seems less of a problem because it deforms more easily.  But with the solid wire, even a little Leatherman Squirt seems to do a better job.

[hellsing]

Is there a way to remove the pocket clip? I don't use it and as a left hander it isn't convenient.

[styx]

Yea but you need a torx driver and it is the same screw as the pivot

[parnass]

The wire cutters are a pleasant surprise, mine worked well on everything I tried them on including stranded, automotive wiring.

Curiously I found the wire cutters very disappointing when I tried them on 2.5 sq.mm (13 AWG) insulated copper wire.  ...

This Youtube video contains an experiment showing the difficulty of cutting various wires using the SOG Switch Plier 2.0.   The video is in German.  I don't understand German, but the video was clear enough to understand without understanding the language.

[styx]

I've tried cutting stranded wire (one of those mechanic's keyring things) and it did have issues. But not nearly as the LM

[hellsing]

Yea but you need a torx driver and it is the same screw as the pivot

You're right, i wasn't confident in doing it cause the bit is hard to put correctly, but i manage to do it without destroying the bit. Thanks!

[styx]

glad you managed to get a good fit for yoruself

[WoodsDuck]

I keep hearing the SOG scissors are bad, and it's disappointing. I've been planning to pick up a SOG MT sometime after Christmas, and it sounded like a cool idea to make up a bladeless build that contains scissors so I can still get some cutting done.
But if the scissors are that bad, I'm not sure I want to bother. A shame, since the easy modability is a brilliant feature in theory, and one I wish more manufacturers would try.

[Demel]

I keep hearing the SOG scissors are bad, and it's disappointing. I've been planning to pick up a SOG MT sometime after Christmas, and it sounded like a cool idea to make up a bladeless build that contains scissors so I can still get some cutting done.
But if the scissors are that bad, I'm not sure I want to bother. A shame, since the easy modability is a brilliant feature in theory, and one I wish more manufacturers would try.

The scissors aren't the best but they aren't horrible. I have them in my Switchplier and I wouldn't replace them. What would you plan on using them for?  They are worth having.

[WoodsDuck]

I use scissors all the time on my MTs, for just about everything. That's why when I'm not doing a challenge, I always have a SAK in my pocket. 

[Demel]

How is it the signal got an owners club before the Switchplier? Or did I miss it.

Maybe this thread can be it

[sLaughterMed]

How is it the signal got an owners club before the Switchplier? Or did I miss it.

Maybe this thread can be it

I just don't think there's much love for SOG these days. They have everything they need to be a real competitor, but until they start coming out with more quality multi tools , they will continue this downward trend.

I think the switch plier may be my next purchase, but I'm not ready to purchase any more tools for the time being

[Demel]

How is it the signal got an owners club before the Switchplier? Or did I miss it.

Maybe this thread can be it

I just don't think there's much love for SOG these days. They have everything they need to be a real competitor, but until they start coming out with more quality multi tools , they will continue this downward trend.

I think the switch plier may be my next purchase, but I'm not ready to purchase any more tools for the time being

That may be so. The Switchplier is a good tool. They just need to continue to perfect their tools.

[firiki]

How is it the signal got an owners club before the Switchplier? Or did I miss it.

Maybe this thread can be it

The Signal also had a Haters Club before its release

[AimlessWanderer]

Some of us have good foresight 

As to the Switchplier, I really need to find time to fix that escaping spring on mine. It's not getting carried because of it.

[styx]

Well it is easy to get excited over LM no matter what the product is. I guarantee you that if they put out a toilet paper keeper with a few drivers and the internet would go nuts, you'd see nothing but "reviews" of it on YT and there would be half a dozen "WTF were they thinking threads" on here before someone starts a Fan club (which I would actually join) even as a mild spoof of the current craze. One thing thing that LM does exceptionally well is bank on the niche needs of popular pastimes or large first world problems.

When it comes to SOG, there are very few people who's first thought wouldn't be "great concept, so how are they gonna f it up this time?". So every new tool they put out needs to prove itself against the high mark staples of other companies and attract enough of a following to warrant a fan club. If you're looking beyond your casual, semi interested user then it is an uphill battle