Pliers Vs. Magnifying Glass

[Captain Hook]

When given the option between Mag Glass layer vs Pliers which do you prefer and why?
(e.g. Handyman vs Champion, Deluxe Tinker vs Explorer)

[Captain Hook]

 

[Nix]

At first blush, I might say "glass", but I have found that the pliers are far more useful than I first thought they might be. While not true "pliers", the SAK version is delightfully handy in a number of situations.

For fishing, I now insist on carry a SAK with pliers.

[Jothra]

One time I learned the hard way that turning nuts and bolts with a magnifying glass is prohibitively difficult.

[ElevenBlade]

When given the option between Mag Glass layer vs Pliers which do you prefer and why?
(e.g. Handyman vs Champion, Deluxe Tinker vs Explorer)

Yes.

 

For some reason - maybe it's the size difference - I see each of those pairs for different purposes... and one suits me more than the other.

Handyman vs Champion - I'd go with the Champion because its a good camping knife, and I'd rather have the Mag lens for the outdoors

D-Tinker vs Explorer - I'd go with the D-Tinker for EDC in town, because its smaller and has a more suburban EDC vibe. In that case, I don't need the Mag lens, but the super-tweezers could come in handy without bulking up the tool much. 

[Altis]

As always, depends on the intended purpose of the knife. Tough call.

Overall I'd probably say the pliers are more useful for me, though that's not to say the inline Phillips isn't.

Fortunately the Cybertool 34 (M) has both pliers and the bit driver with Phillips, so it's my main carry for work.  Handyman is one of my favorite toolsets they offer.

[Captain Hook]

At first blush, I might say "glass", but I have found that the pliers are far more useful than I first thought they might be. While not true "pliers", the SAK version is delightfully handy in a number of situations.

For fishing, I now insist on carry a SAK with pliers.

Those little pliers are surprisingly useful, very good for handling hooks! Personally if I'm carrying a SAK as my only tool I prefer a model with pliers like my beloved Troubleshooter, if I'm carrying an MT I prefer the glass. I like the Handyman as well because of the corkscrew allowing for the mini SD but that's a discussion for another time 

[nate j]

Pliers FTW.  The tip of the can opener will handle any Philips that isn't too deeply recessed, and personally I just don't have much use for the mag glass, so it's an easy call for me.

[kamakiri]

Pliers.

Because can have pliers with backside Phillips (Mechanic, Deluxe Tinker, Matterhorn, Troubleshooter, Craftsman) ...or with Combo tool like Mechanic Jr./Techline.

Kind of a tough call though. As I do prefer the ‘both’ answer if really pushed. And unmodded options for both are somewhat limited. (Hoffritz LE and Champs or larger) ...and maybe a CT Lite (sort of)?

[comis]

That would really depends on where I plan to carry the SAK, for outdoor use, pliers are great for fixing things or holding hot pot lid; while for urban use, I tend to use the phillips more.


But if I have to choose one, I would go with mag glass + phillips, since I use them more for day-to-day urban setting.

[Aloha]

Mag glass + inline phillips.  Here's the simple reason, I carry a Squirt and the pliers on the Squirt out class the Vic ones.  Now I do have the Deluxe Tinker and Swisschamp and both are outstanding SAKs.  Over time however I realized the pliers left me a little flat in some circumstances.  I began to carry the Squirt more and more and for me the SAK pliers are more "super tweezers" and I don't often need tweezers. 

I got a Champion not too long ago after being without for a while.  I gave mine up because a members kids really wanted one.  At the time I preferred the Swisschamp since it had the pliers.  Now having the Champion again I realize I missed out on a great SAK due to having a bias towards the SAK pliers. 

Over time I set aside my Deluxe Tinker for my Tinker small.  The plier are nice no doubt but since I carry a Squirt they don't compare for me.  If I was forced to give up my Squirt then I'd probably still choose a SAK without pliers. 

My Explorer has been a companion of mine for a while.  I have always love the combination of the mag glass and inline.  My one time favorite Swisschamp had it, my Champion has it, and my all time favorite has it.     

[CSG]

Magnifying glass always (ya can't take the boy out of boy scouts even if he's getting to be an old man).  I actually use the ones on my Explorer and Champion Plus on hikes.  I have a pliers knife in the Deluxe Climber but don't recall ever using them.  But just today, I received my 5" Knipex Cobras which are stupidly cool.  Also, In my two rigs, I have Leathermans in the glove boxes. 

[GearedForwards]

I have to go with the inline Phillips and mag glass.

For me personally if I need pliers I'll use a Plier based tool (my Leathermans, Swisstool etc.) as they'll almost always be better suited to the task and I can easily carry a Leatherman alongside my Explorer (even if it's just my Squirt or Style PS). The dedicated Phillips is a nicer to use screwdriver however than many I've encountered in multitools and for the mag, I rarely NEED it. My up close eyesight is very good and I've never even attempted to start a fire like that (though of course will attempt at some point), however having access to a decent mag glass makes some jobs just quicker and easier and unlike the pliers, carrying one of my jeweler's loups with me would be a bit more of a pain.

If I really wanted to have pliers in a SAK like formfactor I have my Boker Tech Tool to fill that niche (and is what runs through my mind when comparing models of SAK, if my Explorer could have a file it'd be a near perfect tool set for me in a SAK).

[MacGyver]

Since for me carrying anything else other than a SAK for EDC is out of the question, i'll understand the question as: "if you could only carry one of the two..."

I'll go with Vic's pliers hands down. First i hardly have any use for the mag glass to justify it, and no matter how cool the inline phillips is, one can use the can opener or the backside philips for a "in pinch" job (whish is what i consider those Sak tools for). If i really need a good Philips SD on a daily basis for a proper job, i'd carry an actual SD.
So that leaves the pliers, it can do what a small pliers can do, and turn small bolts too, which is handy. 

Personally... i actually carry none of the two tools mentioned for EDC, don't really need them/use them on a daily basis to justify the carry 

[Aloha]

On my flea market excursions I've found the mag glass essential.  Just last week I was looking at a jewelry table strewn with lots of cheap jewelry.  I like to rummage through the mess from time to time.  The seller usually go through it fairly well but they typically look for gold, silver, diamonds, and other such valuable items.  What they forget is pewter and semi precious items.  They miss titanium and man made diamonds as well as other materials. They also miss non precious stuff thats still quite pricy and some very cool vintage items. 

Its also great for tang stamps that are very worn.  So far its been invaluable.  Eventually I'll get a decent loop but for the time being its been great.   

[armi101]

Like others have said it depends on urban or outdoors.
Lately I've been finding that the pliers come in handy when in the woods, especially as heavy duty tweezers for slivers and other oddities.

However my son is really enjoying the use of the mag glass to inspect bugs and trees and plants and using the Phillips for stabbing stuff.

More often I carry a vintage Sak. But this shifts back and fourth. I still enjoy a tool with history.

[AlephZero]

Why not both?



Quantum Mechanic says Hi! 

More pics in here

[Steelej1976]

I agree with MacGyver.  Between the can opener and BS Phillips you can do 95% of the Explorer Phillips can do, maybe not as easily but close enough.  The pliers while small are super handy and in most scenarios will see more use then the magnifying glass.

All that being said I feel like the Explorer and the Deluxe Tinker are too big for pocket carry.  If I am going to carry something on my belt it would be a Swiss Champ because I get the Explorer, Deluxe Tinker and then some.

[smiller43147]

As always it depends on your needs.  For me the pliers are more useful than the mag glass (which isn't that great a magnifier IMO), and there are other options for phillips.
For me scissors are more important than either mag/phillips or pliers.

[pfrsantos]

Why not both?

(Image removed from quote.)

Quantum Mechanic says Hi! 

More pics in here

C'mon, guys! This is the obvious answer for MTo!

 

[SirVicaLot]

All three. Well, more or less. I carry the Spirit plus a magnifying glass from an Explorer i bought dirt cheap because it was really messed up. The magnifying glass was good though, so now it rides in my small Convenience/First-Aid Kit. 

[ElevenBlade]

All three. Well, more or less. I carry the Spirit plus a magnifying glass from an Explorer i bought dirt cheap because it was really messed up. The magnifying glass was good though, so now it rides in my small Convenience/First-Aid Kit. 

I was wondering what you ended up doing for the magnifying lens... what about.... making your own single layer mod SAK that has just the Mag, to its protected?  I cant even mod a cheese sandwitch myself, but ...

[Hevy (CT-782)]

Scissors. :-)

But, if I had to choose between Vic Mini pliers or the mags, my answer would be mag glass.

I carry my Gerber Dime most of the time. Nice and cheap pliers. But miss a decent Philips. The mag is very usefull too.



Enviado de meu moto g(6) usando o Tapatalk

[SirVicaLot]

I was wondering what you ended up doing for the magnifying lens... what about.... making your own single layer mod SAK that has just the Mag, to its protected?  I cant even mod a cheese sandwitch myself, but ...

That would make it too bulky again, preventing me from carrying it. I just don’t have that much use for it. I have it sandwiched between the band-aids, thus being protected enough 

[Sos24]

My choice is the magnifying glass.  As I’ve been getting older I’ve come to really appreciate the magnifying glass.  The fact that it is layered with an inline phillips makes it an awesome layer, second only to the scissors layer imho.  When I think I’m going to want pliers, I just add a Skeletool.

[powernoodle]

I would go 100% with the glass and inline phillips.  That inline phillips is so much better than the back phillips, and while I don't use the mag glass much, I still use it more than the mini pliers.  I'm not sure I have ever used mini pliers.  I would rather carry a separate Knipex Cobra plier - though that is cheating.

[Jothra]

I used the pliers on a Deluxe Tinker and the magnifying glass on an early 1980s Explorer to assemble a Metal Earth model last evening. The model didn't turn out well, but I can't pin that on Victorinox.

[MacGyver]

Bumping this thread a bit....

Been using  the DT for the last few days, and the pliers, and all i can say is i stand by my opinion on the previous post and then some...
These little pliers are very useful for a large number of little things. For me, can't even compare to the phillips/mag layer on the Explorer, by a mile...
There are a lot of other handy options for the phillips SD within the SAK, but none for pliers if one is not there.


Bare in mind that my opinion is based on a single SAK based carry, as i'll carry nothing else for EDC (other than small implements to use with the SAK).

[Kraken]

I agree with Sos24 and powernoodle.  I would have to go with the mag glass/ inline Philips layer over the pliers. In my day-to-day usage, I have more call for the in-line Philips and the mag glass than I do the SAK pliers , a.k.a. aggressive tweezers. I find that the Philips gets to more of the recessed screws that I encounter more often than I do the need for a pair of pliers. Also, the mag glass is great for splinters and seeing the increasingly smaller serial numbers that are on electronics these days. I just don't run in to the need for the pliers more than I do the Philips and when I do, the SAK pliers aren't going to cut it. I have Knipex pliers wrench and cobra pliers along with a Squirt PS4 in my mini tool kit @ home and another Squirt PS4 and locking pliers in my work kit if I ever run in to the need for them. Again, this is just my opinion based on my needs. And it's why I find everyone's reasons for carrying what they do so interesting; it's based on need and experience.

[Aloha]

Bumping this thread a bit....

Been using  the DT for the last few days, and the pliers, and all i can say is i stand by my opinion on the previous post and then some...
These little pliers are very useful for a large number of little things. For me, can't even compare to the phillips/mag layer on the Explorer, by a mile...
There are a lot of other handy options for the phillips SD within the SAK, but none for pliers if one is not there.


Bare in mind that my opinion is based on a single SAK based carry, as i'll carry nothing else for EDC (other than small implements to use with the SAK).


(Image removed from quote.)

Appreciate your experience.  I like the pliers on the SAKs and the older thinner ones especially.  I enjoyed carrying my DT a lot when I got it and used it very happily.