How advantageous are SOGs pliers?

[xt60043f]

I have always wondered how much extra power does a set of SOG compound leverage pliers provide?  They claim 2x.  Lets see if these claims are true! 

I only own a SOG ppp (and a crosscut but I do not like to talk about it) so this is the tool I have analysed here.  The exact same method could be applied to a powerlock.  You may notice the diagram is actually a PT-510.  As they are the same frame it does not matter.  Further more the measurements were done on a PPP and this is just a diagram to help you visualise the parts the measurement are taken from.  All measurements were done with my metric verynear caliper and recorded in mm.

First of all the mechanical advantage has nothing to do with the 'gears of madness' that like to chew your palms when you are using the handle tools.  It is quite incorrect to say this tool has compound 'gearing'.  If you look at the gears you will see they are quite thin and could not cope with the forces involved in using the plier if they were the main pivot point.  The gears are simply there to 'synchronise' the handles.  This makes them both open at the same rate and is what gives the opening that SOG smoothness.  The power comes from a compound lever system.

The compound mechanism is a result of combining 2 levers.  A class 2 lever (the handles) actuating a class 1 lever (the head).  This is more than a normal plier which is just a class 1 lever.

Mechanical advantage is 'power gain' we get from the dual lever mechanism.  A mechanical advantage of 2 would mean for every unit of force we exert into the handles we get double at the head.  Mechanical advantage is the ratio of the input lever to the output lever.  A compound lever mechanism has the output of the first lever fed directly into the input of the second lever.  We can work out overall mechanical advantage of a compound lever system by taking the product of the mechanical advantage of the levers in sequence.

The mechanical advantage of the first lever of a SOG PPP is 10.3.
The 'normal' plier is simply the PPP measuring from A -> D, ignoring the compound pivot.

section	name	length	plier	SOG plier
A -> C	handle force lever	91mm
A -> D	normal plier handle lever	100.8mm
B -> C	handle load lever	8.8mm
B -> D	head force lever	18mm
D -> H	head tip load lever	46.9mm	2.1	4
D -> G	head gripper load lever	23.5mm	4.3	7.9
D -> F	head cutter load lever	14mm	7.2	13.2
D -> E	head hard cutter load lever	9.6mm	10.5	19.3

As we can see the SOG has a mechanical advantage over a similar sized set of pliers.  Not EXACTLY twice the power but nearly.  Unfortunately this extra power is negated as you cannot squeeze the handles hard because they just dig in to your hands.  I reckon I could squeeze a normal plier handle twice as hard as the SOG pain levers.  This somewhat negates the compound leverage advantage!

Of course if SOG would just make a newer version with reversed handles (and locking tools) we could really leverage the advantage of the mechanical advantage leverage!  SOG are you listening?  Give the customers what they want!






So who wants to work out the mechanical advantage of the crunch? 

[dks]

Try using the models with the handle covers as they will not dig into your hands.
another issue is whether the sog pivots and pliers heads are twice as strong as other makes so that they can handle the higher moments and forces. Empirically I do find that sog pliers are very good at cutting thicker wire.

tapa works now

[Lynn LeFey]

It's not only a matter of whether they can handle higher force. It also means for repetitive tasks that you are fatiguing your hands less. I've had days of doing a lot of wire runs where I would have LOVED to have only been applying about half as much force to cut the wire... EACH time I cut.

My experience with both the Powerlock and Crosscut are very positive. The covers on the Powerlock really do cut down on the handles biting into the palms, but add one more annoying step when trying to access the fold-away tools.

[jzmtl]

Yep the handle covers while clumsy and look ugly, they do work.

However to me the reason it's not particularly useful is because without the compound leverage I can already squeeze handles till they start to flex (ala leatherman/gerber), with SOG I have to squeeze them lighter because I'm afraid something will break if I apply the same force.

[gregozedobe]

Yesterday I found my SOG powerlock pliers could deliver significantly more force than my LM Charge TTi using the same amount of effort.  But I agree, you need the tool covers to stop the handles digging into your hands when you press hard (I have strong hands but soft skin).

[mulou]

it does indeed feel close to 2x more power - and its fine with the covers indeed (powerlock/assist have them for example + gear covers). due to this for electronic work and the like i always pick them up instead of dedicate pliers. its just comfortable. the needle nose is also nice.

one thing they could improve is the quality of the cutters. On really strong material its still eventually going to cut due to sheer power but its always going to leave a large dent in the cutters.

I understand that for cutting wires its no big deal, but as they claim to make this also for the military, i found that cutting barb wire and such things - while it works - doesnt work for long .. thats too bad

[gafftapegreenia]

The compound leverage pliers are the reason I carry a PPP instead of a Leatherman Blast.

[Etherealicer]

It's not only a matter of whether they can handle higher force. It also means for repetitive tasks that you are fatiguing your hands less. I've had days of doing a lot of wire runs where I would have LOVED to have only been applying about half as much force to cut the wire... EACH time I cut.

My experience with both the Powerlock and Crosscut are very positive. The covers on the Powerlock really do cut down on the handles biting into the palms, but add one more annoying step when trying to access the fold-away tools.

+1

I recently won a PA with most tools inside, so the gripping is less a problem (it still has lots of pointy parts). I found the hold is more relaxed because you need to apply less force.

[powernoodle]

A most interesting and informative thread, and one which will cause me to retrieve one of my long-ignored SOGs from my arsenal to play with.

[Raukodur]

Given the compound leverage, and ability to swap tools and customise, if SOG made a medium sized tool with all outside opening tools, I would be seriously considering replacing my Spirit.

[theonew]

My wife asked me to cut nine of these so she could take one side off of a dish drain rack:



My first thought was hack saw or Dremel but that would require me getting out of my chair
My second thought was the PPP sitting right next to me. It took two hands but I was able to cut all nine

[sawman]

I had a SOG PL jaw break on me once while I was attempting to bend a piece of metal. 

[tosh]

I had a SOG PL jaw break on me once while I was attempting to bend a piece of metal.

And that Sawman, is exactly the reason why I want proper pliers on a multitool instead of this seemingly endless tirade of cross-over type -  which in fact fails miserably in both the areas its trying to cover.

Oh,  for a surge with REAL pliers 

[gregozedobe]

Oh,  for a surge with REAL pliers 

I'm pretty sure there was a tread on here a while back that covered this exact topic.  IIRC the consensus seemed to be that multitools are the "jack of all trades, but master of none", and that it would cost too much to make plier heads that were a lot stronger (drop forged etc), so that while we enthusiasts might be willing to pay more the general public (ie the volume buyers) would not. 

And we can't even agree within the MTo family about what style of plier heads are best (blunt, semi-blunt, semi-needle nose, full needle nose, replaceable cutters or not, compound leverage or not, full shears etc  )

[AlephZero]

Oh,  for a surge with REAL pliers 

I'm pretty sure there was a tread on here a while back that covered this exact topic.  IIRC the consensus seemed to be that multitools are the "jack of all trades, but master of none", and that it would cost too much to make plier heads that were a lot stronger (drop forged etc), so that while we enthusiasts might be willing to pay more the general public (ie the volume buyers) would not. 

And we can't even agree within the MTo family about what style of plier heads are best (blunt, semi-blunt, semi-needle nose, full needle nose, replaceable cutters or not, compound leverage or not, full shears etc  )

+1 this

Even many of us enthusiasts would have hard time getting all the multitools if they were manufactured to that higher spec.. Personally, I have pretty much blown my budget for the rest of the year as is

[David Bowen]

Oh,  for a surge with REAL pliers 

I'm pretty sure there was a tread on here a while back that covered this exact topic.  IIRC the consensus seemed to be that multitools are the "jack of all trades, but master of none", and that it would cost too much to make plier heads that were a lot stronger (drop forged etc), so that while we enthusiasts might be willing to pay more the general public (ie the volume buyers) would not. 

And we can't even agree within the MTo family about what style of plier heads are best (blunt, semi-blunt, semi-needle nose, full needle nose, replaceable cutters or not, compound leverage or not, full shears etc  )

Yep, we all want drop forged pliers but the cost of manufacturing would drive up retail cost. We have something close with the Gerber MP1 supposedly but I've yet to own one to put it through a test.

Sent from my SM-T377V using Tapatalk

[cody6268]

 My favorite model, the Paratool (a knife store near me still has a USA model, which I plan to pick up tomorrow) has pliers that can be used at an angle, great for working in really tight spaces. For tough pliers, I always go to dedicated pliers. Around the farm, I always have a 7" pair of Proto linesman's pliers with me.  I always use the reasoning, if I'm gonna use a specific tool a lot,and use it hard, keep the dedicated tool with you.