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SwissTool plier jaws

us Offline J-sews

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SwissTool plier jaws
on: January 23, 2007, 02:40:01 AM
I think it was Dunc who first pointed out to me the difference between the old SwissTool plier jaws and the new ones. It must have happened a couple of years ago; I somehow hadn't realized there had been a change. The new pliers have a profile similar to that of the Spirit's, although slightly larger. The Victorinox people made the pivot area wider and stronger, yet the jaws are just as thin, allowing them to get in anywhere the old pliers could.

One thing I don't understand though: why did they change the pliers from a left-hand pivot to a right-hand pivot? (See photo) Go out in your garage and look in your toolbox; every single pair of pliers or scissors or tin snips or multitool, etc I could find have a left hand pivot. Every one.

Except for the new SwissTool plier jaws and the Spirit.

I've come to realize that Victorinox never does something without a reason. I wonder why the plier pivot difference then?

* Swisses.jpg (Filesize: 60.71 KB)
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


Offline supratentorial

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Re: SwissTool plier jaws
Reply #1 on: January 23, 2007, 11:00:40 AM
The one on the right is counterfeit.  ;)


...I have the old-style SwissTool X as well as the Spirit.  I hadn't noticed the difference before.  The change is curious but I failed to come up with any benefit or drawback. 


england Offline Dunc

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Re: SwissTool plier jaws
Reply #2 on: January 23, 2007, 07:49:09 PM
Great post , you have explained it so much better then when I tried  :) I prefer the older pliers as the handles arent so wide apart when the jaws are closed .Would love to know why they changed to.

Dunc


us Offline J-sews

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Re: SwissTool plier jaws
Reply #3 on: January 24, 2007, 04:05:55 AM
...........I prefer the older pliers as the handles arent so wide apart when the jaws are closed......

I noticed that too, but it hasn't been a problem.
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


us Offline J-sews

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Re: SwissTool plier jaws
Reply #4 on: January 24, 2007, 04:20:46 AM
Okay, I've only got one theory, and it is rather lame:

Have you ever grabbed ahold of something out near the tips of a pair of needlenose pliers (or a multitool) and twisted it? The tips of the pliers tend to "cross over", especially on cheap tools with a weak pivot joint. The early Leatherman PST tools were susceptible to this, and many can be found today with needlenose tips that do not line up.

On most pliers, this "cross tips" tendency is worse when you twist something counter-clockwise, as if you were trying to loosen a bolt or remove a screw. Counter-clockwise tends to spread the plier tips apart, whereas clockwise twisting allows the plier halves to push against one another and be stronger.

What is my point? Maybe the perfectionist engineers at Victorinox realized we would be abusing their multitools more on trying to break stubborn bolts and screws loose, twisting them counter-clockwise, so they reversed the pivot on their new plier head design, making it stronger in that direction?

(good grief, I hope all that made sense..... :P)
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


Offline Ging

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Re: SwissTool plier jaws
Reply #5 on: January 24, 2007, 12:22:15 PM
I think J-sews idea make's sense, it would be for a reason like that that Victorinox would change the design.
E


us Offline NutSAK

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Re: SwissTool plier jaws
Reply #6 on: January 24, 2007, 04:06:20 PM
J-sews,

I see your point, but I don't think rotational force in either direction, or the orientation of the halves of the tool would make any difference.  When you apply rotational torque to a plier (around the longitudinal center axis of the jaws of the tool, as you describe), the force on one side of the plier's pivot will be forcing the two halves apart, while the force on the opposite side of the pivot will be acting to force the two halves together.  These combined forces always add up to a linear force along the pivot's axis that tries to separate the two haves of the tool.  This applies regardless of the direction of the torque (clockwise or counter-clockwise), or the orientation of the pivoting halves.  Therefore, the orientation of the two halves should have no effect on the strength of the pivot.  The only variable that would make a difference to that linear separating force in the pivot is the amount of torque applied, regardless of rotational direction.

I will try to draw a picture of what I'm talking about when I get home tonight.  I don't really know how to express this in simpler terms.  (I've studied to damn much physics and it has muddied my brain!)

EDIT:  I'M WRONG!  After second thought, you are correct.  I was only taking into consideration ONE of the handles of the plier and one side of the nut or bolt acting against it, in the opposite direction.  It is indeed true that the rotational force in the counter-clockwise direction against the opposite, static, force of the bolt or nut will cause the halves to separate in the old design, whereas the a clockwise force will force the halves together.  And, with the new design of course it would be the opposite.

I think you've nailed it!  It makes sense to me that Victorinox would to this, at least for my usage of the tool.  I tend to use a plier to remove nuts or bolts more that tighten them, as you have suggested.  In that use, the newer tool would be more durable and have less of a tendency to loosen at the pivot as the older model would.  However, using the newer design of the tool, tightening nuts or bolts in this fashion would cause more wear to the pivot.

If you take into consideration the rusty bolt/nut theory, as you mention, then chances are that the greatest amount of torque that you'll apply to the tool is in the direction of loosening, or counter-clockwise.  Therefore the pivot will be the most durable under the most extreme usage.

Note:  The above comments from yours truly are a fine example of how an engineer's thoughts can turn 180 degrees to meet his a$$!!
« Last Edit: January 24, 2007, 05:32:14 PM by NutSAK »
- Terry


us Offline NutSAK

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Re: SwissTool plier jaws
Reply #7 on: January 24, 2007, 04:29:55 PM
EDIT This is another suggestion, but I think it's secondary to the reason that J-sews has offered.

Maybe the orientation of the halves of the tool might have been changed so that a right-handed person has a better view of the wire cutting blades when cutting or stripping a wire.  If I'm cutting or stripping a wire with the wire in my left hand and the tool in my right hand, I would tend to view where I'm cutting by viewing the tool from the left side.  If I did that, I could see where the top blade of the cutter was meeting the wire easier with the newer version.  With the older version, the bottom blade would be on the side that I'm viewing, but would be partially obscured by the wire that I'm cutting.

Uh....  I hope that made some sense...
« Last Edit: January 24, 2007, 05:13:04 PM by NutSAK »
- Terry


us Offline J-sews

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Re: SwissTool plier jaws
Reply #8 on: January 27, 2007, 05:55:46 PM
Uh....  I hope that made some sense...

Yep, that makes sense.

Note:  The above comments from yours truly are a fine example of how an engineer's thoughts can turn 180 degrees to meet his a$$!!

Hehe, that makes even more sense!  :D
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


 

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