Broke my Switchplier 2.0 today

[3rdpig]

Believe it or not, I was attempting to crush a stale bullion cube with the pliers.  I squeezed, something went "Snap!" and it wasn't the bullion cube.   

Now the pliers are mushy feeling no matter what I squeeze with them.  I retrieved my Skeletool and proceeded to crush the cube, and 5 others, with no issues.

Honestly, I really wanted to like this tool and I even put the scissors into it and the first time I ask it to do anything more than pinch my finger or cut open a bag of dog food it breaks. 

Is it worth trying to fix it or should I just swap the stock tools back into it and send it back to China SOG?

[zoidberg]

There is a plier head, a pin that goes through the plier head and a handle that goes around the pin.

If you've broken one of them then return it to sender.

If you've deformed the pin or handle then it's fifty fifty, I would just send it back.

[rdub934]

Wow, bummer! Mushy, you say? Is the spring still springing?

I say send it to SOG for repair - it was probably just a fluke. Let them fix it for you, carry it some more, and if it happens again then you can "operate" on it and let MTO know where the short coming is

[Demel]

I agree with rdub, send it in and with the replacement try the same thing. It may be a dud. Sorry to hear that.

[3rdpig]

Yea, the spring is still springing.  Nothing is obviously deformed or broken.  Heck, I crushed all of the stupid bullion cubes with a stinking skeletool without my hand hurting, that tells you how much pressure was on the switchplier when it broke.

Okay, I've printed out the warranty form and I'll take the scissors out tonight.  I'll let you all know what SOG says.  I expect they'll just send me a new one.

[JP]

That is a bummer. Bouillon cubes of all things. Crazy.

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[JP]

Any news?

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[Mr. Whippy]

In my case, the little ledge where the spring sets deformed.  I was cutting solid core copper wire when it happened.  SOG sorted it out very quickly.

[styx]

This sucks. And I'm late to this party, but seriously any news from SOG?

[3rdpig]

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've just been flooded with work.

I didn't hear a word from Sog until today when a package arrived with a new Switchplier in it, and by "new" I mean sealed in the retail packaging.  No notes or anything else in the package.

The good news is (well, besides the pliers working) is that the pliers lock deeper into the body than my old one, which barely had the tip under the surface.

The bad news is that the plier action is just as rough out of the box as my other one was.  There's a "catch", almost like a mushy detent feeling halfway through the plier motion as you're squeezing.  It's also got a much stronger spring so the roughness doesn't affect it's opening like it did on the other one.  I lubed it up and it's better, but I'm starting to think that the rough feeling in the pliers is normal.

I'm happy.  Thanks to Sog for replacing it so quickly.  I'm going to put the scissors in and hope for the best.  I really like the layout and operation of this tool, with the scissors it's almost perfect for my needs.

[WoodsDuck]

Mine is a little rough too. It doesn't actually interfere with using the pliers, so I can live with it.

[rdub934]

Glad to hear SOG hooked you up. I knew they would, but still. My SwitchPlier 2.0 was exactly as you are describing your new one. Seemed excessively gritty right out of the box. Gave it a good cleaning and lube, much better. I believe the "mushy detent" feeling is normal. Mine has that as well, and I handled a coworkers SP2 which also had it.

[styx]

nice to see SOG handle it properly

[3rdpig]

Another thing, the general fit of this one is better than the first one.  The cover on the first one didn't fit flush on one side when closed.  Also, the pocket clip on the new one has much more "snap" to it, it actually has to be pulled over the seam of the pocket.  It's nothing like the one on the Skeletool, but the first switchplier would fall right off if the pants were held upside down, this one won't.

Well, the scissors are back in.  Maybe I should have crushed some bullion cubes first?  I'm almost afraid to do it.   

[Demel]

It's worth a try. At least you would know for sure.

[Omar Rapace]

I have to ask: what is a "bullion cube"?

[sLaughterMed]

I have to ask: what is a "bullion cube"?

Its a cube of preserved chicken renderings (read: really salty) used to make chicken stock/broth (1 cube per 8oz of water).

It has pretty similar properties to a sugar cube, if that helps.

[Omar Rapace]

I have to ask: what is a "bullion cube"?

Its a cube of preserved chicken renderings (read: really salty) used to make chicken stock/broth (1 cube per 8oz of water).

It has pretty similar properties to a sugar cube, if that helps.

Ok, Bouillon cube then, not Bullion, thanks for the info. I for a moment thought that the OP was trying to crunch gold ;-)

So now I am totally puzzled: bouillon cubes can be crumbled by hand. How come the SP 2.0 failed that?

[anditsgone]

Maybe I should have crushed some bullion cubes first?  I'm almost afraid to do it.   

Ahhh, i know that feeling. When i broke my skeletool pliers (twice  ) i was afraid to use the pliers again on any mt. Also one of the reason why i bought my swisstool X, it has the biggest baddest and beefiest pliers on the market and have not managed to break them yet

[sLaughterMed]

I have to ask: what is a "bullion cube"?

Its a cube of preserved chicken renderings (read: really salty) used to make chicken stock/broth (1 cube per 8oz of water).

It has pretty similar properties to a sugar cube, if that helps.

Ok, Bouillon cube then, not Bullion, thanks for the info. I for a moment thought that the OP was trying to crunch gold ;-)

So now I am totally puzzled: bouillon cubes can be crumbled by hand. How come the SP 2.0 failed that?

Thats sort of the source of all the frustration. The cubes shouldn't have broken the pliers. As to why, it probably comes down to bad casting (which happens in all multi companies, it's part of the nature of casting stainless steel).

[3rdpig]

I have to ask: what is a "bullion cube"?

Its a cube of preserved chicken renderings (read: really salty) used to make chicken stock/broth (1 cube per 8oz of water).

It has pretty similar properties to a sugar cube, if that helps.

Ok, Bouillon cube then, not Bullion, thanks for the info. I for a moment thought that the OP was trying to crunch gold ;-)

So now I am totally puzzled: bouillon cubes can be crumbled by hand. How come the SP 2.0 failed that?

   I'd love to pretend it was an auto correct error, but I own this one.

The cubes were very stale.  Leave some bouillon cubes in your cupboard for a couple of years and see how hard they get.

[3rdpig]

Update!

I broke the new Switchplier 2.0 today!     


No bullion or bouillon this time, but rather a 3/8" aluminum tube that I wanted to squeeze one end shut on, then fold it over.  While I was squeezing the end shut once again something in the pliers broke and now they're all mushy again.

I realize that this a light duty tool, but I'm not really squeezing that hard.  And once again, another tool, this time a Gerber Diesel, had to finish the job.

Am I the only one who's actually using his Switichplier 2.0 to do work with?  Or have I just gotten a couple of lemons?  Is it a design flaw or just crappy materials?

Not sure what I should do here.  I guess I'll send it back again, but I doubt I'll ever really use it again after this.

[Demel]

I'm sorry to hear that. I haven't pushed them too much so I'm not sure. That really sucks. You should send SOG a "serious" email and make then send you powerlock

[styx]

Like Demel, I haven't pushed mine really hard but starting to rust after my edc backpack got a little wet twice over the last month doesn't bode too well

[ducttapetech]

Wow! I use mine pretty hard, not like my Power locks or Surges, but mine has not given me any fits.

That's us mobile

[zoidberg]

Update!

I broke the new Switchplier 2.0 today!     


No bullion or bouillon this time, but rather a 3/8" aluminum tube that I wanted to squeeze one end shut on, then fold it over.  While I was squeezing the end shut once again something in the pliers broke and now they're all mushy again.

I realize that this a light duty tool, but I'm not really squeezing that hard.  And once again, another tool, this time a Gerber Diesel, had to finish the job.

Am I the only one who's actually using his Switichplier 2.0 to do work with?  Or have I just gotten a couple of lemons?  Is it a design flaw or just crappy materials?

Not sure what I should do here.  I guess I'll send it back again, but I doubt I'll ever really use it again after this.

Might be time to open it up and identify which part is defective...

[3rdpig]

Might be time to open it up and identify which part is defective...

I've been considering that.

[zoidberg]

 

[styx]

just be careful that something doesn't fly off in the general direction of your face. the last thing you need is an injury

[3rdpig]

Ok, I've got an update.  First I checked to see if the pliers were still mushy.  Yep, mush city.  So I pulled off the small screw that holds the spring from rotating and then pulled off the center cap.  This releases the belt clip, center cap and a washer under the cap.

Here's the interesting part. With these parts off the pliers are no longer mushy.  They're smooth and rock solid.  So I think I had, for want of a better term, a "false stop".  Something other than the correct part was pushing the pliers closed, and when I squeezed hard enough I overcame that and then the correct part contacted the pliers. But the false stop was still rubbing, giving me the mushy feeling.  With the false stop gone, the pliers are solid but the with the pliers closed the handle is 1/2" closer to the body of the tool.  And they're solid...and I squeezed them hard and I've got big, strong hands.

What I can see is that there's a small bent piece of metal coming up from inside the plier hub that I think is the end of the internal spring.  It hooks onto a flat plate on the outside with a "key shape". The belt clip actually keys into that.  The washer that goes over top of that has a U cut in it for clearance of the small bent spring end.  It's a somewhat odd design.  Once the clip is keyed into it's matching part, you put the washer over (making sure the U cut is over top of the bent spring end), then put the center cap screw on.  Then you rotate the belt clip, which tensions the spring, until the hole in the top plate lines up with a threaded hole in the body, then you put the small Torx screw into that to hold it in place.

Now that the problem is gone, and I can't reproduce it, I can't tell what was causing it.  But it was definitely in the parts around the spring end, spring clip, belt clip, washer and cap. My guess is it's the bent spring end and the washer with the U shaped cut for clearance.  They're the only parts that seemed to have some unusual wear.  The more I think about it, the more I think that this is an assembly problem, a part that for some reason, either assembled incorrectly, or because the center cap wasn't as snug as it should be, came out of place and was pushing against the pliers when I squeezed.

This is going back to being my daily carry tool again.  If it happens to anyone else and you have the correct Torx and Allen tools, then it seems to be a simple fix.