Question about Pliers & Cutters

[julielou2]

Apologies that it didn't take long to start with the newbie questions but I have a query about the pliers/cutter set that I have bought. I've never owned tools like this before and my concern might be due to ignorance but I'd like to double check whether these tools are sound or are poorly produced. I can't afford top of the range pliers/side cutter but didn't want to buy the cheapest going in case that was false economy too so spent about £50 on a set of 5 but...

When I close the side cutters as far as I can, the blades meet only for the top quarter/third and I can see an (admittedly very small) amount of daylight at the point the blades should meet lower down (meeting plane???). If I squeeze the handles together very, very hard then I can get the blades to meet but this only seems to be due to the flexing of the handles and it'll be too hard for me to use them that way.

The angled pliers only meet at the very very tip on the angled part - there is about a half to one mm gap between the two sides all along the non angled and lower angled part of the pliers.

The round pliers only meet at the end - which I think I would have expected but one of the "fingers (?)" of the pliers is slightly off set to the left so doesn't meet the other "finger" in a straight line - it's meeting in more of a slight diagonal. This off set is very small but noticeable with the naked eye.

The chain/snipe pliers only meet properly about half way down the "fingers" - I can see daylight (again only a small amount but it's there) at both the top and more at the bottom of what seems to be the meeting planes.

Finally the flat pliers only meet for the top quarter and there seems to be more daylight on one side compared to if you turn them around.

Additionally the general finish of the pliers is a bit rough and I can see and feel the milling lines on the insides of the pliers' meeting planes which I worry about marking my wire.

By comparison I bought a pair of 3 step ring pliers made by a well know American jewel making tool brand and although these are quite heavy they feel much smoother on the planes, better engineered and balanced.

Would really, really appreciate experienced comments about this. Am I being ultra picky or should my pliers/cutter set be sent back?

BTW the pliers are box joint and steel.

[Goldsmith]

Obviously you get what you pay for with any tools, but that does not mean they will not be useful. As for pliers they will be used mostly for bending metals so the fact that they are not perfect is not important. Although snips that do not cut cleanly can be a bit of a pain. Take my advice and buy decent tools when you can, as they will last you a lifetime, you can also buy bog standard pliers and file them to suit your purpose. I still use a pair of flat non box joint pliers that I bought from a market and filed to a shape that I needed when I was an apprentice some 44 years ago. Many of my hammers are standard tool kit hammers that I have ground or filed to suit my shaping purposes. Many tools made for engineering will be useful to working within this trade, so start collecting tools, one of the best places to buy tools is at Model Engineering Shows, some second hand tools are invaluable.
James

[mizgeorge]

Send them back. They are clearly not fit for purpose - which is a problem with a lot of kits.

As well as Cookson's own offerings (the economy ones are fine), the ultra ergo range from Palmer Metals is particularly good value for money in terms of quality.

[julielou2]

Thank you both for the advice - glad to hear that I wasn't just being over critical. :)